Our Second Summer
by ActingPrincess
Summary: Shane and Mitchie are back with their friends for another summer at Camp Rock. But with the competitive nature of Camp Star, there may not be another summer. Shane and Mitchie try to get their relationship back on track. Nate and Caitlyn try to rebuild their friendship after their failed romance, and he finds himself falling for Axel Turner's daughter. Sequal to Our Summer.
1. Chapter 1

"Turn, turn. There's the sign!" She pointed her finger in her mother's line of vision. "Oh, my gosh, I can't believe we're finally here!" She was rambling. "Oh, wait. I told Shane I'd text him once we're almost there."

Connie sighed. "Oh, Mitchie..."

They were in the 'Connie's Catering van' after Brown had called them two weeks before, pulling into the entrance. Her daughter couldn't contain her excitement.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Mom," Mitchie rolled her eyes. "Obviously it's something. I mean, you and subtle aren't very good friends."

"I know you and Shane talk all the time, but, you know, it's..." Connie sighed. The previous summer, former best friends had become boyfriend and girlfriend, but Shane had been called away to go on another world tour to make up for the one that had been canceled. "You actually haven't seen this boy in almost a year. I just don't want you to be too disappointed, honey, if he can't come to camp this summer."

"Mom." She shook her head. Shane was her boyfriend, a boyfriend that would FaceTime with her on their IPhones, or text and call her every chance he got. But on the other hand, he had only kissed her maybe two or three times; all of them being the previous summer

"I want you to have fun and focus on your music."

"Okay, first off, this is gonna be the best summer ever. And second, nothing can make me lose my focus." Something caught her eye. A sign that read 'Camp Star.' "What is that? Did somebody open another camp?"

* * *

They were unloading their things from the van, but Mitchie was still focused and angry about the idea of another camp competing with her own.

"Seriously, why would somebody open up another camp across the lake?"

Her mom handed her her duffel bag and her guitar case. "Oh, who knows, but I don't think it's anything to worry about."

She was about to respond when she saw the familiar curly of her best friend. She screamed, ruining her mother's hearing. "Caitlyn!"

Caitlyn turned to look at her, a grin spreading across her face as they ran to each other. Her hair was longer, her clothes still bright and cheerful. "Mitchie!"

They threw their arms around each other. "Hi! Aah! Caitlyn!"

They had had only small amounts of time to see each other during the school year, but this summer was theirs to reestablish their friendship.

"How are you?"

"I'm great."

They released one another, and her best friend twirled one of Mitchie's dark curls around with her fingers. "What's with the hair?"

"I wanted a change," Mitchie laughed, pulling away. She grabbed Caitlyn's arm. "Come on. Let's go."

Caitlyn reached out and wrapped her hand around the handle of the guitar case. "Let me take this for you."

"Thank you. I was so afraid that we weren't gonna get here in time, but doesn't look like many campers are here."

"Well, you know what this means." She said with a smile. Mitchie caught on fast, and then began to run up the hill. "Since we're the first ones here, we totally get our choice of..."

She threw the door open; both of them stopping when they finally noticed Tess, Peggy and Ella standing there. "Bunk."

They all seemed to stare at each other before screaming and running to hug each other. Their conversations were rambled together, all too excited to realize that they weren't making sense.

"I bet you sounded fantastic."

"Yeah? Oh, my gosh."

Tess Tyler hung back. "Well, I guess no one cares about my life."

"What don't we know?" Mitchie asked with a laugh, turning to face her. "I mean, you update your status like, every two seconds."

Tess was the former Camp Diva, and she was still the butt for all of their jokes. The girls laughed.

She laughed. "Fine. I have a question, and it's for Mitchie."

"For me?"

"So, what's going on with you and Shane?"

The girls giggled, as if they were thirteen and at one of their first sleep overs. Mitchie gave them an amused look before blushing in her famous way.

"Nothing is going on."

"That's a total lie." Caitlyn pointed an accusing finger in her best friend's direction.

"You guys are obsessed." She accused, shaking her head as they all laughed again. "No, seriously. I don't know, I just...I feel like if we never get to spend any time together then nothing is _ever_ gonna happen."

"I have another question," Tess probed. They waited. "Mitchie, what's with the hair?"

* * *

"Just one more crank and I think I got it." Shane Gray announced. He was on his knees, wrench in hand as he tried to chance the tire on their tour bus. "That's good."

Nate Black shook his head, already fearing the worst. "Can we please just wait for the tow truck? Oliver tried and he couldn't get it."

"That's because Oliver's not properly motivated." He explained as he tried to free the wrench. "He's not trying to get to Camp Rock before Mitchie."

Oliver, their bodyguard and bus driver frowned. Their way to get to the camp had been Shane's idea in the first place. "We should have never taken that shortcut."

Jason shook his head, a small smile on his face at the thought of seeing his 'little sister'. "Maybe because Oliver doesn't even know Mitchie."

Nate pointed at Jason, as if to say 'you just proved my point,' before grabbing the tool and pulling it away so easily.

"Thanks." Shane told him, getting to his feet. They began to walk, his band mates not missing the smile on their friend's face. "It's gonna be really cool. I got it all planned. She'll walk in, and I'll be sitting there, and I'll say: "Hey, Mitchie." She's gonna be so surprised."

The youngest band member rolled his eyes. That was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. ""Hey, Mitchie"? That's your big line?"

"Trust me. Everything's cool when I do it. I'm just excited to finally spend some time with her." Mitchie. His beautiful girlfriend. He was so ready to spend an entire summer with her, after having to break his promise about spending the rest of the summer at home the previous year. He was _dying_ to look into her dark brown eyes and to kiss her.

He had even started to leave his hair curly for her, knowing how much she loved his natural look.

"Oh, here you go." Jason reached into his pocket, dropping it into his friend's hand.

Shane narrowed his eyes. "Is this from the tire?"

"Yeah. I saw it on the ground before. Thought it was important, so I put it in my pocket."

"Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"

"How could I have told you if I didn't remember until now?"

"It's fine." He said with a sigh. "Just one bolt, right?"

"We good?"

"Mm-hm."

"Yeah."

They heard a noise and whirled around, watching with wide eyes as their tour bus began to lean to the left.

"Please. No!" Shane pleaded. "Oh! Please, don't. No, no, no."

It did no good; the bus tumbled over the edge of the cliff it had been parked on. Shane dropped to his knees, cursing everything he could think of.

"Told you it was important." Jason patted his shoulder before following Nate to try and get some help.

* * *

"Where is everybody?" Caitlyn asked. They were still in their cabin, already having unpacked all of their clothes.

"I know, right?" Mitchie glanced out the window. "There's like, barely anybody out there."

Peggy wandered away from her dresser, a hopeful look in her eyes. "I sure hope you've got something we can do at opening jam. Because if not, I've got nothing."

"Kind of, maybe, sort of. I don't know. I..." Mitchie picked up her song book, unsure. Ever since singing This Is Me with Shane last summer, she had been writing like crazy. She had let him hear a few lines every now and then, but she had mostly been keeping them to herself. Nate, he was always willing to listen and he had been the only one to hear her latest song for Shane.

"Can we hear it? Sing it!" The girls pleaded encouragingly.

"Uh, okay. It's not finished."

"It's okay. Come on."

Mitchie was stalling; the only thing she was thinking about was Shane and how it would feel to see him, to be back in his arms. The one place she so desperately wanted to be. "Not anything special..."

"Come on!"

She took a deep breath before beginning to sing the first verse. "Last year's old news . I'm breakin' out my six-string and playin from my heart..."

Peggy was smiling at her friend, excited about the new song. If there was one thing Mitchie was, it was a genius when it came to song writing. "That is amazing."

"I love it." Caitlyn promised her best friend, reaching out to put a hand on her shoulder.

"Really? Thank you. That's all I got so far. I have a lot of lyrics, but the music's not really worked out yet."

"Maybe we could just sing the first part over and over again." Ella suggested. She grinned, pleased with herself.

Mitchie heard a melody playing, and she smiled. "That's it."

"Really?" She sounded surprised. "Nobody ever agrees with me."

"Barron! Sander!" She called, running outside. The two boys were sitting on the steps that led to their cabin, listening to one of their friends play the guitar.

"Hey, what's up?" Barron asked with a smile. He wrapped her up in a hug before sitting back down.

"Hey." Sander greeted the girls. He slipped his arm around Caitlyn's hug.

"Hi, how you doing?"

Mitchie sat down next to the guitar player. "Play it again." She asked with a smile.

"For you, Mitchie?" Sander nodded at his friend. "Anything."

"Let's rock."

_Ohh ohh  
Last years old news  
I'm breaking out my six string  
And playing from my heart  
It's not deja vu  
Cause it's another summer  
That's how this chapter starts  
I'm gonna run so fast 'til I can't breathe  
Come along and follow me  
Let's make some noise we never did before It's a brand new day  
Don't you see me  
Changing on my way  
So completely  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
It's a brand new day  
And I'm feelin good  
And I'm feelin good  
So drama free  
So drama free  
I'm all about the music I just wanna sing  
Watch me live out my dreams  
I'm gonna rock that stage and give my everything  
I'm gonna dance until my feet can't move  
Come along get in the groove  
Let's shine so bright more than we did before  
It's a brand new day  
Don't you see me  
Changing on my way  
So completely  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
It's a brand new day And I'm feelin' good!  
What you gonna do? What you gonna do?  
I'm gonna laugh through the summer with you  
Who you gonna be? Who you gonna be?  
You'll just have to watch me carefully  
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?  
Anywhere my heart wants me to go I'm gonna sing  
I'm gonna dance I'm gonna ride I'm gonna play I'm gonna try my game in everything  
Cause It's a brand new day  
(Don't you see me)  
Changing on my way  
So completely  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
It's a brand new day  
It's a brand new day  
It's a brand new day  
Changing on my way  
Changing on my way  
This time I'm gonna sing and you're gonna hear it  
Gonna hear it  
This time I'm gonna show you that I got the spirit  
Got the spirit  
It's a brand new day  
It's a brand new day  
It's a brand new day  
And I'm feelin' good Feelin' good  
And I'm feelin' good!_


	2. Chapter 2

They ended up on the Opening Jam stage, her girls singing backup for her. The crowd of campers began to cheer.

"Yes, all right. Mitchie Torres, returning rocker." Brown smiled at her, reaching out to grab a mic. His campers began to cheer again. "Yes! Welcome to the heart and soul of rock 'n' roll. Whether you're slick and happening or dark and jamming, Camp Rock is the place to be, yeah? All right! Now, I'm sure you've noticed that there aren't quite as many of you as in years past. But not to worry..."

A truck horn honking made him trail off. The three members of Connect 3 were sitting in a cattle truck, surrounded by chickens. The campers cheers grew.

Mitchie screamed again. "Shane!"

"Sorry, she does that." Connie apologized as Brown winced. Her daughter was going to make everyone around her def.

"Rockers, my nephew, and Camp Rock alum, better known to the world as Connect Three!" Brown announced. He didn't miss the fact that his nephew's eyes were only on Mitchie.

"Hey." Shane waved. He started to jump off, to go and get his girl, but ended up falling instead. Jason and Nate shared a smile.

"We probably shouldn't have tied his shoes together."

Nate shrugged, his eyes full of amusement. "He's the one who said he could make anything look cool. And I believe he stands corrected."

"Shane." Mitchie said with a laugh, coming to stand next to him. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Shane shoved the chicken he had taken with him during his fall into Jason, who lost it. "Surprise." He announced, wrapping his arms around her.

"All right. They are gonna be with us for the entire summer."

She looked at him, her eyes wide. "The whole summer?"

He nodded, laughing at her surprise. "Absolutely."

Brown chuckled. "The official reason being he misses his uncle. But I don't think that's the entire story."

Every camper began to jeer at the pair, wishing they knew the full story. Shane and Mitchie were still lost in their thoughts of each other.

"People are staring." Jason nudged him. "You might wanna do something, like react or wave."

"Hey, guys. I'm Shane. This is Jason and Nate. We know it's gonna be hard, but just treat us like normal campers."

Everyone rolled their eyes, bored by his words and walked away. He looked down at Mitchie, who laughed. "Wow, I guess it's not gonna be that hard."

"Yeah, as I was saying, um, we're a little smaller this year, and that is courtesy of our new friends across the lake, Camp Star," Brown was joined by Nate and Jason on the stage. Nate pressed his hand into his shoulder during his rant. "Founded, not so coincidentally, by my out-to-destroy-me, still-mad-that-I-kicked-him out-of-the-group former band mate, Axel Turner."

"Axel Turner?" Tess stepped away from her mic stand. "The guy who owns Star Records? He's across the lake?"

"Yes, and I share your disdain, Tess. Thank you for that. Now, it's gonna take some effort, but I'm sure we can all peacefully co-exist on the lake..." He trailed off as jet ski's ruined their peace and quite. Things were shot into the air and the campers braced one another.

"We're under attack!" Jason cried. He wrapped his arms around Nate who shoved him away. Boxes with parachutes landed in their hands.

Peggy caught one, peeking at it. "It's full of marshmallows."

"This one has chocolate." Caitlyn handed the box to Connie.

"Graham crackers." Barron announced, pulling the parachute away that had covered him. They were all grinning, stupidly happy.

"Camp Rock's invited to an opening-night bonfire." Mitchie informed them. She had grabbed the piece of paper that had been attached. The others crowded around, trying to read over her shoulder.

"No, no, no. Absolutely not. No."

The campers began to chant. "Bonfire, bonfire, bonfire!"

Brown sat down on the edge of the stage. "This is a setup." He called to Connie, the only one listening. "For what I'm not sure."

Connie was eating the chocolate, it was mouth watering, the best she had ever had. "Come on, Brown. It'll be fun. You said yourself we all need to get along, right?And it's not just because I haven't made dessert yet. This is really good chocolate. Isn't it?"

* * *

"Caitlyn," Nate greeted as the campers walked back to their cabins. "Hey. How are you?"

She refused to look him in the eye, still hurt about how they had ended. "I'm fine. I just need to go find Mitchie."

"Don't be like this," He pleaded, reaching out to grab her arm, to make her stay. "Caity, I'm sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I _miss_ you."

She pulled away from him. "If you _missed_ me, Nate, then you wouldn't have dumped me over the phone. Look, I have to go. Have a great summer, alright?"

Nate watched her leave, his eyes hardening. He had been such a jack ass to her, but he still loved her. Their relationship had been hard, and he couldn't take the stress any longer. He didn't think ending their relationship would have made him lose him her altogether.

"Hey, curly haired freak," Mitchie teased, coming to stand next to him.

"Rude," He replied distractedly. They had talked yesterday on Skype, but he hadn't seen her since the previous summer.

"You okay?"

Nate sighed. She knew him well enough to know when he was lying. "Not really. But I don't want to get into it right now, okay Mitch|?"

She held her arms out and he wrapped his around her in a tight hug. "I missed you, munchkin."

"I missed you too, Natie."

"Munchkin!" Jason screamed from miles away. She was pulled out of Nate's arms, her feet leaving the ground as he twirled her around. "Hi Mitchie munchkin!"

"Hi Jasey!" Mitchie greeted her big-brother like figure. Shane joined them a second later, slinging his arm around her shoulder.

"I have a feeling this is gonna be a good summer,"

* * *

Later that night, they all piled into the canoes and made their way to Camp Star. Caitlyn, walking with Tess, was in awe, her eyes wide.

"One word. Wow."

"This isn't a camp, it's a resort." Caitlyn muttered, star struck,

Tess laughed, bumping her shoulder with her own. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Nate and Shane had taken their guitars with them, and Shane stood with one foot in the canoe and one foot on the dock to steady it while his friend unloaded.

"All right, I got it." He told Nate after the last piece of equipment was out of the canoe. The canoe began to drift away. It looked like he was going to have to do the splits. "Oh, I don't got it."

Nate smiled. No matter how much Shane had changed, it was too much fun to still make him look like a complete idiot. "I think we should add this to the uncool list."

"A little help...A little help, please." He called, though everyone ignored him. Finally, a warm hand enclosed over his and pulled him back onto the dock. Mitchie. "Thank you."

"See?" She teased, letting go of his hand. "These are the type of things that you can't learn over e-mail."

"Maybe we should go back to that." Shane joked, following her down the path that would lead to the stadium.

"Guys, I'm not kidding. Line up and wait for me. Junior rockers, I'm serious. Pleas"e wait." The Junior Rocker counselor shouted as he ran after the youngest campers.

"Hey, what's up, guys?" Jason greeted, coming to high five the kids. "I remember when I used to be a junior rocker. Is that a camera, bud?"

He reached out to take it from the ten year old Trevor Kendall who stepped away from him. "Don't touch it."

He laughed, reaching for it anyway. "What, you think I'm gonna drop it in the water?" And then ironically, he did. He laughed again, nervously this time. "And if you thought that, I guess you'd be right."

Trevor watched him carefully. "You dropped it, Curly. You swim for it."

"Yeah. Um..."

"Brown, my man. Long time." Axel Turner called as walked over to them, taking his sweet time. Axel was the type of person who wore his sunglasses even when it was growing dark. He reached out as if to give him a hug before pulling away all too quickly.

"Hi, I'm Connie." She offered him a hand, grinning when he took it.

He gave her the once over. "Hi,"

"Listen, Axel," Brown was becoming more suspicious by the second. "I don't actually know what your plan is..."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. A breath and a step. I'm beginning to remember why I left the band."

Brown stiffed a laugh. "Left the band. You left...You left the band? That is so rich. Is that what you're telling people?"

Axel patted his shoulder. "You, my friend, have got to stop living in the past. I'm trying to reach out to you here."

"Reach out? Reach out by driving me out of business. I love it."

"There's no reason why we both can't be successful. We both have our niche." He said with a sigh, trying to act as if everything was good between the two of them. It wasn't.

"Niche?"

"Camp Star is dedicated to producing the superstars of tomorrow. And, ugh...what's your place about again?"

"Encouraging kids in their love of music, _Axel_."

He patted his shoulder again, his voice sympathetic as he walked away, calling over his shoulder. "Like I said, room for both of us."

Brown turned to Connie, his eyes wide. Axel was defiantly up to something. "You know, just to be clear, he did not leave the band. We kicked him out."

"I know," Connie agreed with him, maybe just to shut him up. She touched his arm before going to follow the rest of the campers. "I know. It's okay."

"We kicked him out." He called after her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Question:" Shane whispered as they walked up the vast staircase. His arm would purposelessly brush up against hers, making her smile each time he did it. "What do you say you and I break away later and I finally take you on our first date?"

Mitchie's smile grew. What a perfect idea. "Answer: I'd like that."

"Check, check. One, two. Check, check. One, two. Check, check, check."

They stopped to look at the stage, Mitchie looked at it in awe, not in a good way. This place, this Camp Star was defiantly not like Camp Rock. Not in any way.

* * *

"Wow."

Tess appeared next to her, a smile on her face. "I know, right? That's all I've been saying since I got off the boat."

She left, making her way to her seat where the rest of their group of friends were.

Shane and Mitchie shared a look. Nothing good could come from this camp fire. She grabbed his elbow, her arm around his waist. It was too late to leave. "Come on."

* * *

"Ready?"

Nate didn't have to look up to know that it was Jason standing behind him, soaking wet.

"We really shouldn't be here. It's so obvious this guy's just doing this to get back at Brown. First, he tries to take down the White Crows, and now Camp Rock." He finally turned to look at his friend, doing a double take. "What is that?"

"Hot chocolate." Jason answered obliviously. He took another sip. "They're handing it out free when you walk in, plus you get to keep the mug."

Nate rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"There's no way I'm staying at this bonfire."

A pretty, dark haired girl heard his words and stopped. She turned around and dazzled him with her smile. "Hey, pouty boy. You better hurry. The bonfire's about to start."

"You know, we should probably go take our seats. I think they're about to start." He told Jason, watching her leave. Was there such a thing as love at first sight? Nate Black had never believed in it, but now...

"Mm-hm." Jason said with a smile. Still no one said anything about the fact that he had gone for a late night swim, but he shrugged innocently.

"Don't mock."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Okay, just a little bit." He admitted. Nate shook his head and walked away. Jason took another sip of his hot chocolate. "Ah."

* * *

"Look, they actually have a real Wardrobe department with incredible fabric! And they let me make this." Ella announced to her friends, dropping down into the seat. She began to pull at something unseen by the others. "Uh-oh. I think I just sewed my scarf to my bra."

The others laughed, teasing her. Mitchie realized how much she had missed having Ella around to make her laugh constantly during the school year, though they texted every chance they got.

She sighed and looked around. "So I thought this was supposed to be a campfire. You know, singing, telling stories, an actual fire."

"Everybody have a seat. I'm Axel Turner. And I'd like to welcome all you rockers, and my dear, old friend, Brown Cesario."

Brown's campers began to cheer, happily. Jason cupped his hands in front of his face and called out. "Yeah, Brown! Whoo!"

"To Camp Star!" Axel finished with a frown. He wasn't used to people giving his ex-friend such a warm welcome; even his campers were clapping loudly.

"Go, Brown!" Mitchie called, smiling as Shane brought his fingers to his lips and whistled.

The Camp director made his way over, dropping down next to his nephew. "

But you all don't wanna hear a speech from me. You wanna get to what a campfire is really all about: singing."

Ella laughed again, nudging her friend in the back with her knee. "Hey, that's what you just said. You're twins." She giggled in her cutesy way.

Caitlyn and Peggy shared a look.

"So does anyone have anything they'd like to play? Camp Rockers, don't be shy."

She glanced around, surprised that no one from either side had volunteered yet.

The girls were nodding encouragingly.

"Well, we'll go, if nobody else wants to." Mitchie said as she got to her feet. Shane, with a knowing smile, handed her his guitar since she hadn't brought her own.

"This song is about me and a friend of mine." She announced into the mic; they had descended the stage, each taking a mic.

_We're like a melody with no words  
Until we figure it out  
We sing la la la la, la la  
I know it's simple, yeah  
But it's worked right until now  
Cause up 'till now, yeah  
Every day's been like a dream world, oh  
But now you're not just in my head, oh no  
Will we remember different summers? I  
t's like tossing your heart to see where it lands  
Heads is easy, tails is harder to plan  
If we start it all over again And again and again, oh  
You know I can't help but wonder  
What's gonna happen next  
I'm a little curious, oh yeah  
Every stop that I stood under  
When you were under it too  
Did you ever think about us?  
I hope you did cause I can tell you  
That's something I'll never forget  
I won't forget  
Will we remember different summers?  
It's like tossing your heart to see where it lands  
Heads is easy, tails is harder to plan  
If we start it all over again  
Only friends, just beginning  
But I hope that we find it again  
So we can go from here, oh  
Will we remember different summers?  
It's like tossing your heart to see where it lands  
Heads is easy, tails is harder to plan  
If we start it all over again  
Again and again and again and again  
Again and again and again  
Will we remember different summers?_

He had been watching her intently, knowing just who that song had been written about. When she would look out into the audience for a split second, her eyes would dart to his and her beautiful smile would make his light up even more.

"That was sweet. But I guess it's time for Camp Star to answer. And, my apologies if we embarrass ourselves. We...We're kind of new at this."

_Yo yo yo Yo yo yo  
Nobody's gonna wanna get next to me  
Cause they know  
They know I'll take this one  
I wont let it go  
Doesn't' matter how you approach the scene  
Just go  
Just go  
You're everything you want when you hit the door  
I dare you to challenge me  
You'll be begging for mercy please  
Just watch!  
I'll give you something to follow  
Cause I've been waiting so patiently  
__To let the  
Got fire come outta me  
I'm what you up against,  
I'm just letting you know  
__Gota make it hot  
This stage is mine  
So set it up  
The king is knowin no one can take his crown  
So brave  
So brave  
They can't cool me off when I hit the stage  
Burnin hot, the spotlight just spelt my name I feel famous  
Famous  
The crowd cheers me on  
I can't get enough  
Keep givin you the  
Fire  
I'm gonna heat it up  
Under my control  
Here's the night that you've been waiting for  
Fire  
I'm a light it up  
Gotta make it hot  
This stage is mine  
Lets set it up  
I keep givin you the fire  
I'm a heat it up  
Under my control  
Here's the night that you've been waiting for Fire I'm a light it up  
Gotta make it hot  
This stage is mine  
Let's set it up  
I keep givin you the fire I'm a heat it up  
Under my control  
Here's the night that you've been waiting for  
Fire I'm a light it up  
Gota make it hot  
This stage is mine  
Let's set it up_

The dark haired girl threw a hand into the air, sending her silver bracelet flying off into the crowd. It went straight for a curly haired boy sitting in the audience.

"Ow!" He cried, catching the piece of jewelry before it disappeared on the ground forever. It was engraved, the name reading _Dana_. "Oh." "

Nate, are you okay?" Jason asked, dropping his hand onto his friend's shoulder.

"And that's how we do things here at Camp Star!"


	4. Chapter 4

"Wow." Caitlyn muttered. She couldn't stop saying it. She felt brainwashed, and Tess wasn't helping, every time she would say it, she would repeat. "I know, right?"

"Uh, before we go any further, I'd like to make a quick announcement. We're having staffing problems. Who knew we'd be so popular?"

"All right, now we're under attack." Brown hissed to the pair.

"So I'd just like to put it out there. If there are any Camp Rock counselors or staff who'd like to make the switch, I'd be more than willing to double your salary."

"You've gotta be joking! I barely have enough staff as it is."

No one expected the Junior Rocker's counselor to stand up and announce. "I'll go."

"What"

"No!"

"And, if there are any Camp Rock campers who'd like to join us, well, I'm sure we can find you a bunk. Oh, did I mention our cabins are air-conditioned?"

Mitchie shot Shane a look, as if he could do something to stop this.

"He can't do this."

"Right." Brown jumped to his feet, shouting orders. "I need all the Camp Rockers back on the boats now. Come on. Go, please."

"Come on, guys. Back to the boats. Let's go. Come on." Jason echoed, reaching out to grab a tempting camp rocker by the arm and dragging her along behind him.

They waited outside the camp for their boats. Nate had had to drag his friend away from Mitchie to look at his eye.

"Are you sure it's okay?"

"Not a scratch." Shane promised, moving his away from Nate's face before anyone got the wrong idea. He started to say something else, but that dark haired girl interrupted.

"I'm really sorry about that." Dana announced. Her cheeks were rosy; she couldn't believe she was actually having a conversations with _Nate Black_.

Shane threw his arm around his shoulder for moral support, but he pushed him away. "Oh, it's all good. I'm totally fine. I'm just happy I could catch it for you."

"Well, it's always kind of been my lucky charm. I guess it still works."

He frowned. "Did you forget the part where you hit him in the eye?"

Shane caught Nate's eye and got the picture. He pointed off into the distance before walking away, "I'll be over there."

"So, Dana, you were amazing up there."

She blushed again, reminding him of Mitchie every time she got nervous or tried to lie. Her cheeks turned the same shade of pink. "You think? I'm just glad it's finally over. We've been practicing for weeks, and still, every time I go on, I'm almost sure I'm gonna throw up. I'm really glad you guys came. My dad was totally sure none of you would show."

And when Nate gave her a surprised look, she sighed. "My dad's Axel Turner..." "He's your dad?" "Everybody says that, and kind of exactly like that, but trust me, once you get to know him, he's a really great guy. Well, I-I guess I should go." She tried to laugh it off, turning to walk away.

"Here." Nate pressed the bracelet into her palm. "You don't wanna lose it."

"You can keep it if you want." She offered generously.

"What would I do with a bracelet?"

Jason and Shane stood together, watching their young friend flirt with whatever-her-name-was. It was so unlike Nate to act like that, especially since he had broken up with Caitlyn almost a year before. Little did they know, she was standing beside them, watching intently.

"And here he said he missed me." She hissed, her eyes filling with tears. "Nate-"

That was all she got to say. The two remaining members of Connect 3 ambushed her, Jason covering her mouth with his hand. "Shh, Cait. It's okay, alright?"

"Get her on the first boat back," Shane hissed. "I'll stay here and wait for Nate and...Wait. Have either of you seen Mitchie?"

They shook their heads before the oldest band member wrapped an arm around the stubborn brunette and dragged her off in the opposite direction. Nate didn't even notice.

"Right. For the record, I'm glad you're okay." It seemed that part of her wanted to leave while the other part wanted to stay and keep talking. "You have really pretty eyes." Dana announced, spinning back around. "Ah. Sorry, that was weird. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

He laughed; Caitlyn had said that to him the first time they had actually talked. Right after Mitchie's lie had been revealed...after Final Jam. "No, it's all good. People tell me that all the time. Um, probably because they're right in the middle of my face, so..."

"So...What...?" She drew out, shifting from one foot to the other. "Um...I'll see you around." Dana walked away, shooting glances at him over her shoulder.

"Okay. Yes, I wanna keep it, you have pretty eyes too." He mumbled under his breath, walking back over to his best friend. "Stupid. I'm an idiot."

"Ha." He scoffed, trying to get back at him for the earlier prank.

"Something we both can agree on."

Nate punched him, hard.

"Ow. Strong idiot."

Dana walked back her father, happy and guilty at the same time. She wasn't supposed to be socializing with _anyone _from Camp Rock, let alone someone who was richer than anyone in her world. "I..."

"I don't want you talking to that boy." He warned, his fatherly instincts over-loading. It wasn't just because Nate Gray was a boy, he was a rock star with fame and money. And his band was at Camp Rock, when they could have been at Camp Star.

She looked at him, watching him walk away with his famous friend in search of someone else.

"Don't worry, I don't think it's gonna be a problem."

"Okay, come on." He wrapped his hand around hers, leading her back to _their _group.

"Rockers, boats now." Mitchie had gone to round up the campers without telling anyone. She had no idea that Camp Star was so _big_ and she kept getting lost.

Now, as the Rockers brushed past her, she found herself in awe of the room she was in. "Wow. Now, this is a recording studio."

"Hey." The voice startled her.

She whirled around to find a familiar looking guy around her age standing there with his arms crossed. "Um...Hi." She laughed nervously.

The way he was looking at her...

"Can I help you with something?"

"Do I look like I need help?" He demanded, sounding exactly like the old Tess.

"Do I know you?"

He laughed. "That's funny. I'm Luke. Luke Williams? I was just on-stage, like two minutes ago." And when Mitchie still looked at him, Luke grew impatient. "_I'm giving you the fire_."

"Wow, impressive."

He had a good voice, but he was too cocky for her liking. Like Shane, before she had changed him. Maybe this guy needed to find his own 'Girl With The Voice,"

He laughed again, not catching her sarcasm. "I know, right? It's kind of my thing. So you thinking about joining us over here?"

Pigs would have to fly before she would ever leave Camp Rock, no matter how nice this other place way..."Uh, no, I'm perfectly happy where I am."

"Well, you are Shane Gray's girlfriend, so..."

She smiled at the sound of Shane's name and then realized what he had just said. "Wait, what does Shane...How do you even know that?"

"You have to know the players if you wanna be in the game, right?" "No." "It's a tough business."

"It's _summer_ camp." Mitchie reminded him. A place that was supposed to be fun, and all about kids expressing their love for music. Encouraging their dreams.

"To you, but to anybody at Camp Star, it's step one to a long and illustrious career. I don't have time for second rate."

That made her angry. She could have slapped him.

"We're not second rate."

Luke held his hands up in surrender. "You don't have to get all defensive. It's none of my business, you don't have to try to convince me."

"I'm not _trying_ to do anything."

"Good. You're at the perfect place for you." He told her what she would have wanted to hear, even though he would still try to convince her to join them. With a voice like hers, not to mention how it would drive his biggest competition, Shane Gray, nuts. What a perfect way to mess with him.

"Look, just so we're clear, Luke "I'm giving you the fire" Williams, or whatever your name is, not one Camp Rocker, not in a million years, would ever even think about coming over to this narcissistic, over-produced ego factory."

She watched as Tess walked into the room, dropping her phone back into her bag. Her eyes were bright, too excited. She was up to something. "Guess what? My mom said yes! I get to make the switch."

Mitchie stared at her, wide eyed. What was she talking about? She loved Camp Rock...She was a changed person. She was about to betray her friends.

Luke offered her a warm smile, his eyes smug. Camp Star had just won Tj Tyler's daughter. "That's great. Welcome to the ego factory." "Thanks."

"Tess," She started. "How could you?"

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I feel horrible, but..." Her eyes feigned hurt, sadness. Her voice was fake and then her smile was back "Who am I kidding? I am so excited, I can't even pretend to be sympathetic." Tess turned to Luke, ready to impress her new partner.

"That was great what you did up there. I'm giving you the fire So impressive."

"I know, right?"

"Wow. Good luck trying to find a spotlight big enough for the both of you." She turned on her heel, ready to walk away before a hand shot out and grabbed her arm. Luke.

"Mitchie," Tess begged. "Hang on a second."

"Yeah, Mitchie," Luke spoke her name for the first time, pulling her closer. "Just think about what you're about to walk away from. You can be perfectly happy here, you can even meet someone new...Not some arrogant pop star who only cares about himself. You could launch your career. You don't _need_ Shane Gray anymore,"

"Mitchie." Speaking of the devil. Shane and Nate turned the corner, both calling her name.

They stopped when they saw her.

Shane was anything but stupid, and he knew his best friend/girlfriend well enough to know when she was uncomfortable. Nate did too.

"Okay, Mitch. It's time to go," He reached out, his hand curling around her upper arm. "Come on, Tess."

Luke stepped in front of her. "She's staying, much like your friend was about to before you two got here,"

Shane's jaw tightened. "Like Mitchie would ever spend more than a few minutes in a hell hole like this."

"Alright, Shane." Nate grabbed the collar of his shirt, yanking him back. "We're gonna go before you start something that I'll have to finish. Come on, Mitch."

He dragged both of them along, back towards the canoe. Back to Camp Rock.


	5. Chapter 5

"No, you guys, it's gonna be okay." Mitchie told the rest of the campers that morning after breakfast. They had been arguing for what seemed like hours. "I mean, Brown's a smart guy, he can figure something out."

"Thanks for that vote of confidence, Mitchie." Brown walked into the mess hall, a grim look in his eyes. This was about to break his heart. "Guess I don't have to get everyone's attention. So the good news is, and this really warms my heart, we lost very few campers last night."

His campers cheered, hoping there would be more good news.

"That's right. But we did lose quite a few of our remaining staff. Which means, and I can't believe I have to say this, Camp Rock is closed, effective immediately."

"Wait, what?"

"No."

"You have to believe me, I truly..." He stumbled over his words. "I've got no other option. I'll start calling parents as soon as we're done here, which I guess is now. I'm sorry."

"Brown, wait. Guys." Shane touched her arm before going to try and stop him, Nate and Jason following at his heels.

"Camp is over?" Ella looked like she was about to cry. "But we just got here."

"It's not his fault. I mean, there's nothing he can do about it." Caitlyn argued. She crossed her arms, ready to go back to the cabin and pack.

"But..." Mitchie started, that look in her eyes that made her friends know she was up to something. She was. "That doesn't mean there isn't something we can do about it."

"Mitchie..." Peggy shook her head. Nothing was going to work.

"No, I'm serious. This is our summer, and we're not giving up. We're _not_ backing down." "I don't know, Mitchie."

_We can't  
We can't back down  
We can't We can't back down  
We can't We can't back down  
We can't We can't back down  
Not right now  
We can't back down  
Not right now  
We can't back down  
We can't back down  
Don't close your eyes  
We're all in this together  
Wherever we draw the line  
We're not gonna straddle across it  
Or lose it  
We can't back down  
There's too much at stake  
This is serious  
Don't walk away  
We can't pretend it's not happening  
In our own backyard  
Our own home plate  
No way  
We've been called out  
We've been called out  
Do you hear your name?  
Yeah I'm not confused  
Let's win this thing  
Let's do it  
We can't back down  
There's too much at stake  
Don't walk away  
Don't walk away, yeah  
Don't get me wrong  
I don't like confrontation  
I'd rather we all just get along  
Music should be undivided, united  
We can't back down  
There's too much at stake  
This is serious  
Don't walk away  
We can't pretend it's not happening  
In our own backyard  
Our own home plate  
No way  
We've been called out  
We've been called out  
Do you hear your name?  
Yeah I'm not confused  
Let's win this thing  
Let's do it  
We can't back down  
There's too much at stake  
Don't walk away  
Don't walk away, yeah  
We got a situation that we can't ignore  
'Cause ignorance is not bliss  
We don't have to take this, no  
With every big decision  
Comes an equally important share of the risk  
We gotta take this  
We can't back down  
There's too much at stake  
This is serious  
Don't walk away  
We can't pretend it's not happening  
In our own backyard  
Our own home plate  
We've been called out!  
Do you hear your name?  
I'm not confused  
Let's win this thing  
We can't back down  
There's too much at stake  
Don't walk away  
Don't walk away, yeah  
We can't back down  
We can't back down  
Not right now  
We can't back down_

* * *

Shane had convinced Brown to meet the campers in the mess hall again, saying there was a surprise. He agreed, anything for his campers.

"What's going on?"

Mitchie, Caitlyn, Peggy, Ella, Barron, Sander, Shane, Nate and Jason stood in front of them, all wearing the official 'Camp Rock Staff' hat. "Well, you said you needed some new counselors, so...I found you some."

His smile grew. This could work. This could really work. "Then it looks like I should call this staff meeting to order."

"Yes!"

"Thank you!"

Shane surprised her, wrapping his arms around her to sit her up on his shoulders.

The others laughed as he began to jump, and spin, making her feel like she was about to fall.

Nate crossed room, his eyes set on Caitlyn.

"Hey,"

She refused to look him in the eyes. "Hi." She was still so angry. Caitlyn felt like crying. He didn't care about her. Why was he even trying?

"Cait. Listen to me, please?" He reached down to take her hand but she pulled away from him again.

"No." Caitlyn hissed, her voice icy. "Just leave me alone, Nate. Why are you even trying?"

* * *

"No, nada. Guys, I already told you, I'm not gonna be doing this." The two boys were pushing their oldest band member towards the Junior Rockers cabin; Mitchie suggesting that he be the one to stay with them because of his...child-like nature.

She had enlisted Shane and Nate to convince him to do it. Well, mostly Nate.

"_Jason_, you're looking at this all wrong." They had stopped walking, Jason shoving the other two away from him. "This isn't punishment. It's a...reward."

He raised an eye brow, Nate's words even surprising himself. "Really?"

"Really." Nate nodded, continuing to talk. "This just means that everybody thinks that you have the leadership skills, the maturity, the intelligence..."

"You think I'm intelligent?" Jason quipped, his eyes bright with excitement.

"No." Nate admitted, and he smiled. "And the sheer guts to take on this challenge."

"Wow, you're good." Shane said with an amused grin. It was amazing how Nate and Mitchie could convince him of almost anything. He had never been able to do that himself.

"Thank you."

He grinned, his friends thought _he_ was intelligent! "You're right. This is an honor."

"Exactly. Now, get in there and make us proud. We'll be right here if you need us."

The two boys look at each other, a knowing look in their eyes. "Run." They said together, heading off in the opposite direction before Jason could realize what they had gotten him into.

"Hi, everybody. I'm Jason!" He announced, letting the door slam shut behind him. "I'm gonna be your counselor. I'm a little new at this so I thought you guys would go a little bit easier on me. What do you say?"

They all stared at him. "I say, let's get him."

"Yeah!"

"Guys, guys, hold on a minute." A grin appeared on Trevor's face. He raised his camera and began to film. "Now get him."

"No, no, no!"


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning was their first class. Caitlyn, late already, was lost.

She was supposed to be teaching dance, of course. She waltzed into the room, ready to start. "All right, let's dance."

She found herself in _Nate's_ drumming class, of all places. She blushed, before spinning around on her heel and running back out. "Sorry!"

Shane, Barron, and Nate ran to check in with Mitchie before their own classes, grinning. This was going better than they ever could have imagined.

She looked at them hopefully, already knowing by the look in their eyes that it was perfect.

"All good?"

"All good."

"Let's do this." They ran off in separate directions, Shane not missing the opportunity to catch his girl around the waist, locking his arms around her waist.

"Shane," She said with a laugh that made his eyes light up. She laughed again, turning around and pecking him on the cheek before shoving him back.

He offered her a wink before sprinting off to his hip hop class.

* * *

Nate, drum sticks in hand, ran into Caitlyn's class. He blushed, before offering them a nod and taking off again.

The two passed each other on the way, slowing down. They locked eyes for the first time since camp had started before busting out laughing.

"Apparently after going here for the last thirteen summers, we still don't know our way around?" She joked, offering him a smile.

Nate laughed harder than he needed too. Caitlyn, _his_ Caitlyn was starting to come back around and it made him want to grab her and spin her around again and again.

"Right?" They laughed again before she glanced down the trail.

"So, I guess I'd better go...Got a class and all to teach...well, you know." She reached out and touched his arm. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," He said, surprised by the physical contact. "Good luck,"

"Yes. Yes, yes, yes." Caitlyn muttered under her breath excitedly. She was finally in the right place, and her students waited for her eagerly. "Here we go, guys." She stood in front of them, showing them the right moves. "All right. Circle, down. Head, meet, out."

* * *

"Louder." Peggy called to her singers, and they listened, making her grin. "Awesome."

* * *

"Got a color that looks good with his eye color." Ella instructed during her fashion design class. They were sitting on the steps on her cabin, enjoying the afternoon summer weather.

"What about this, girls? Right?" She held up a piece of fabric, making them laugh at some inside joke.

* * *

Mitchie watched them all with a satisfied smile on her face. One by one, her friends waved at her as they walked up the path, discussing what they would learn the next day.

"Hi." Peggy called over her shoulder, waving.

* * *

The Junior Rockers only found fun in throwing things.

Jason, for once in his life, became serious. "Enough! Do you wanna rock? Well, you know what? You don't deserve to rock. Why should I show you the first thing about being a rock star, if you don't wanna show me any respect?"

The Rockers sat down, intrigued by his words.

Jason continued, surprised at how calm they suddenly were. "Well, okay, then. Who wants to play the drums? Who wants to play the guitar?" They raised their hands, one by one. "Who wants to be a lead singer?" One of the kids in the back raised his hand, making him sigh, "Well, you are gonna have to buy tighter pants and learn how to play a tambourine."

"I heard that." Shane warned as he passed. His words vowed revenge.

"Sorry." Jason called back before turning to his campers. "It's true."

"Nate?" Shane had been continuing his walk, intent on getting back to Mitchie so he could _finally_ take her on their first date. And yet, the way Nate was staring out across the lake, a pair of binoculars in his hand, made him stop and question his best friend.

"Yeah. Shane. What's up, bro?" Nate stumbled over his words, barely glancing over his shoulder to look at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Um, lifeguard duty." He lied. He was actually watching Dana at her piano. She was so beautiful. "Schedule's a mess, but you can't be too careful. Just one last look. All clear."

* * *

"So, what do I have to do to pull you away from this clipboard?" He teased, trying to take it from her.

She gave him a playful warning look, pulling it back.

Their moment of fun was over when Connie stormed out of the kitchen. "Mitchie, I just rolled 100 pounds of raw hamburger all by myself. I told you, honey, I needed help."

"No, no, no, that...That's impossible. I know for a fact that I scheduled..." Her eyes went wide as she flipped furiously though the schedule, realizing her mistake. "Absolutely nobody. I'm so sorry."

"What's going on?" Brown had always had _perfect _time. "

This isn't working. The kitchen is a disaster. Yesterday, I ordered 50 pounds of black beans and they delivered fifty cases of beach balls instead." She gestured to where Barron and Sander stood with the beach balls, giant grins on their faces.

The beach balls would be perfect on the lake.

"Well, you gotta admit, Mom, you don't have the best handwriting." Connie gave her daughter a warning look, not like the one she had given Shane. She opened her mouth to speak, but Brown beat her to it.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, it's rock 'n' roll, right? It's gonna be a little chaotic. I think you're doing great. We'll just make some adjustments to the schedule, yeah?"

He glanced around the room before his eyes locked on his nephew. Even with Shane's attitude change the previous summer, he still wouldn't be getting any special treatment. It was to ensure that he didn't go back to the pop star version of himself. Brown grinned. "Perfect. Shane, help Connie with the hamburgers."

"Actually, I've...I've got this thing..." He stammered, shooting his giggling girlfriend a glare over his shoulder.

"Oh, really? Well, come on, pretty boy." Connie grabbed his chin, yanking him away from the others.

"No, but..."

She laughed, feeling an arm wrap around her. It was Brown. They watched someone very important to them be dragged off against his will to do his least favorite thing.

"You did good with him," He muttered before releasing her and walking back to his office.

* * *

"All right, that's it. Now pick it up. Bring it home." Nate called over the sound of the drums. His class was going so well. The drummers stopped and he glanced down at his watch before an urgent smile appeared on his face. "I knew you could do it. All right, now it's, uh, getting a little late, so what do you say we all go enjoy some free time?"

His students cheered; he was one of the favorite teachers.

Nate ran down the beach with a life jacket on, pulling his binoculars up so they would fall around his neck. He was in a canoe, watching Dana, who was at the piano again, surrounded by campers working on a song. He wanted to wave, but a voice startled him.

"Hey, man." Barron greeted. He was sitting on the back of one of the Camp's jet ski's. He had been watching Nate the entire time. "What are you doing?"

"Oh." Nate muttered, startled. "Why does everybody keep doing that?"

"Sorry, we're just doing our part as activity directors."

He narrowed his eyes. There had to be another reason as to why they were there... "And what's the activity today?"

"Wake boarding!" The jet ski was on the move again, sending sprays of water in his direction

"No!" He begged, though he was already soaked. "Oh."

"Are you okay?" Dana demanded as she watched him drag his canoe onto the Camp Star shore.

"Yeah, I'm great."

"Uh, don't suppose you came over here to see anyone in particular." She asked hopefully, dropping down next to him when he sat.

"No, just getting some exercise." Nate laughed at his own joke.

She wanted to know everything about him. But she didn't want to make it so obvious. "Do you play a lot of sports?"

"Canoeing." He shrugged, though that was a lie. He didn't really like canoeing at all. That had always been Shane and Mitchie's thing. "That's pretty much it."

"I'm really not all that sporty either. I played soccer when I was little, but who doesn't? I don't know if it counts as a sport, but I'd kind of love to be a dancer. It's like my nerdy secret, "if I could be anything, that's what I'd be" wish. What would you be?"

"I don't know. Never thought about it." But he was thinking about Caitlyn at that moment, and what an amazing dancer she was. Maybe Caitlyn could help Dana out with her dancing...No, that was a horrible idea. Just yesterday he had had his first _good_ conversation with her since they had broken...Since he had dumped her, something he would never be proud of. He was just getting her back into his life, and he had wanted that for so long. It was better that Caitlyn didn't know about Dana. Dana was still babbling, starstruck.

She blushed, and it still reminded him of Mitchie. "Probably because if you could be anything, you'd be you." She stopped for a second before bringing her hand up and inspecting it. "Uh, do you wanna hear something really stupid? I was goofing around, and I accidentally sort of wrote your name on my hand but used permanent ink by mistake."

Nate reached out and took her hand, brushing his finger over the name his real one, Nathaniel, had been shortened to. The name every girl in the world knew him by. "No one's ever written my name on their hand before." He admitted, grinning at the situation. Just like Mitchie, she was so adorable when she was nervous.

"Really more my wrist." "Dana..." He drew out, ready to tell her something that scared the hell out of him.

"Yeah?" Dana was just as nervous as he was. They were close, close enough to kiss.

"Dana?" Another voice called out. It was impatient, and so very familiar sounding.

"Oh, it's my dad." She stuttered, both of them scrambling to stand up. "I'm so sorry, I'm not supposed to be talking to you. Hurry. Go." She shoved him towards the water.

"Dana?" Axel came into view just in time to see an over turned Camp Rock canoe and his daughter reaching down to pick up the paddle.

"Hey. I saw this canoe." Dana explained, standing up.

"Ugh. Don't touch it, it's one of theirs. I'll have an attendant fish it out." He wrapped his arm around her, ready to lead her away when he noticed something. "What's that on your wrist?"

"Nothing." She promised, tugging down on her sleeve. She followed him obediently.

"You wanna know what I wanna be?" Nate muttered to himself, underneath the canoe, his brilliant hiding spot. "The kind of guy who can tell you how he really feels." He sighed. "I hate canoes."


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm still an idiot." Nate announced to Shane as he passed him on the beach. He was soaking wet, thanks to Barron, and Axel, for coming at the wrong moment.

"I still agree." Shane responded with a smug smile. He wasn't expecting Nate to come back, his fist raised. It made him flinch. "Dude, you can't keep hitting me. Thank you."

Mitchie had always been there to help him when he needed her, even when she didn't realize it. She ran to him, to jump up on his back. She sent both of them falling into the sand.

"Oh!" He muttered, letting out a surprised laugh. "Ow."

"Thanks, Mitchie." Nate grinned down at her before taking off in the direction of his cabin to change.

"I had absolutely the _best_ day ever. Everything's finally starting to work out." She paralyzed him with her smile, rolling off of his back. They sat facing each other.

"That's great." Shane told her; still disappointed that they hadn't spent any time together. "It's all because of you."

"No," Mitchie shook her head, trying to convince him otherwise. They stood up together, Mitchie leaning against him. "It's because of us."

"Now that everybody else has gotten your time, I think I'm gonna demand some of my own." He was being serious, he didn't care what it would take to get some of her time.

"It hasn't been that bad."

Shane smiled at her sadly. She didn't understand, and he needed her too. "The whole reason I'm here, the reason my band is here, is so I can get to know you better. It's only been like two seconds."

She straightened the button up shirt he had taken to wearing instead of his black, tight shirts and his skinny jeans. "And that is the sweetest thing that anybody has ever said to me."

"But..."

"But..." "Now a word from your friendly neighborhood announcer." Barron announced over the loud speaker. "Will the counselors scheduled for the bonfire please report to the mess hall?"

"But you gotta go." He said, defeated.

"But _we_ gotta go." Mitchie tugged on his hand, but when she didn't feel him following her, she turned back around.

"Are you coming?"

"No, it's cool. I'll catch up."

"Shane." She wanted to run into his arms and stay there forever, but they were calling her again and again.

"Go, they need you." He said, forcing a smile. "I'll see you later, Mitch,"

Mitchie watched him for another second before sighing and heading towards the mess hall. "Okay."

* * *

"What happened to you?" Peggy asked with a laugh. She was with Caitlyn, both late for that camp fire meeting.

Nate sighed. No one was gonna let him live this down. He glanced over at Caitlyn, who was fighting her laughter.

"I'll meet you in there," She turned to her friend. "Okay?"

Peggy nodded, giving her a knowing look. "Your funeral when you walk in late. You know how Mitchie's been lately."

"So seriously," Caitlyn finally laughed at him, reaching out to ruffle his wet curls. "Did you go for a swim? Or are you just stalking girls by hiding under canoe's now?"

"It's a long...Wait. You know about that?"

She nodded, a small smile on her face. "Jason never was good at keeping secrets,"

"One day I might just kill him," Nate warned her. "You okay?"

"Are _you_ okay, Nate? This doesn't seem like you,"

He sat down on a rock, surprised when she sat down next to him. He sighed, wishing he was in dry clothes, but he wasn't about to pass up on a chance to talk to Caitlyn.

"That what's scares me, Cait. I like her, but I can't tell her anything about myself. And I want too. She's amazing...She kind of reminds me of you,"

She blushed. "You think I'm amazing?"

Nate grinned at her, covering her hand with his own. "You know I do,"

Caitlyn leaned in and pecked him on the cheek before she stood up, not wanting Mitchie to kill her for being _that_ late. "Oh, and Nate?" She called over her shoulder. Stopping for just a second.

"Yeah, Caity?"

"I think you and I can be friends again,"

* * *

"Hey." Connie whispered, handing Jason a cup of hot chocolate. "I'm impressed. You seem to be doing much better with them."

Jason smiled proudly. "It took a little bit of time, but I think I finally gained their respect." He stood up to walk away, but something stopped him. "Who glued me to this log?"

"Log Butt, Log Butt. We're gonna call you Log Butt." One of the Junior Rockers taunted, making the others laugh.

"You know what's worse than being called Log Butt?" He threatened, starting to go after the campers. "Is being sat on by Log Butt."

"Run." Brown warned them, a smile on his face. "Run, he's got you."

"Come back here!"

"Fireflies!" One of the campers called out. They were all running to catch this one, their director joining in on the fun.

"I'm gonna get this one. Okay, catch them, everybody. Let's jump. Jump."

"Looks like the Lord of the Flies over there." Axel dropped the pair of binoculars, his eyes full of disgust at the thought of catching _fireflies_. "There's no way they're gonna make it through the summer." He walked away.

"I remember doing that. It's fun." Tess muttered protectively. She and Luke had joined in on the spy mission.

"Don't even think about it." Luke hissed, following Axel back to the canoe.

Tess stood there and watched her old friends laughing and having fun. There was a hint of regret in her eyes, but Luke's hand curling around her arm and pulling her along behind him stopped any feelings she had.

"It felt so great just standing up in front of that class today." Peggy told her friends. They were sitting on the steps of the boy's cabin, watching the fun.

"I feel like there's nothing we can't do."

"Pleats." Ella muttered, making them laugh. "Still can't do pleats."

Sander sighed. "Wish we had that attitude the other night at Camp Star."

"Yeah, I _so_ wanted to show them up."

Peggy shook her head, defending them. "That hardly counted. They'd been planning that for weeks."

"Yeah," Barron agreed, suddenly growing angry. "And now they're all walking around thinking they're better than us."

"So not true. You know, I'd really like to see them go up against us."

"Yeah!"

Mitchie had been sitting on the deck chair, her-_Shane's_ guitar on her lap. She strummed random notes, watching as Barron and Peggy went back and forth. There was something going on between them.

"If we had time to get it together, no way they'd stand a chance. Like in Final Jam." Caitlyn was getting excited about the idea, as if it were truly possible.

"There's just no way."

"Lot of big talk. Wanna see if it's true?" Mitchie muttered, a smug smile on her face.

Her friends looked at her with a knowing look.

"What are you up too, Mitch?" Barron asked slowly.

She smiled innocently. "Why would you think I was up to something, Barron?"

"What are you guys doing?" Shane, flanked by Nate, demanded.

"We, um..." Shane took the guitar away from her, leaning it against the wall before he grabbed her hand and pulled her down the steps. "Come on! You're missing all the fun,"

Nate offered Caitlyn his arm, which she took with a giddy smile.

Barron surprised Peggy by scooping her up in his arms, Sander tagging along behind them.

"Oops," Shane yanked on her hand, sending her falling close to the fire. He laughed and pulled her back. "Babe, you need to be more careful,"

Mitchie slapped his chest, giggling nervously. "God you are such a jack ass!"

"I'm _your_ jack ass," He said with a cheesy smile, earning him another slap.

"I got stuck with you," Shane raised an eye brow.

"Oh really?" He demanded, wrapping his arms around her waist in an unbreakable hold. "Well you're not gonna get rid of me that easily, Michelle." He lifted her feet off the ground before beginning to tickle her.

"Shane!" Mitchie cried, tears streaming down her cheeks from laughing so hard. "Shane! Shane, okay! Okay, okay, okay! I chose you! I chose you! I love you!"

"I love you too," He muttered, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I love you too, baby."


	8. Chapter 8

"It's about time." Luke hissed. He found Tess on stage, talking to her replacements for Peggy and Ella, "My private vocal lessons started ten minutes ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that Axel thinks you need the extra rehearsal."

"Camp Rock!" Voices began to chant. Mitchie and the older campers began to dance down the path, Nate providing them with a beat.

"Camp Rock!"

"Camp Rock!"

"Camp Rock!"

"Camp Rock!"

"Camp Rock!" Shane called. He had taken the back of the line, with Nate and Jason.

"Camp Rock! Ooh!" The campers came to a halt, Mitchie their fearless leader.

"Yeah, that's right. We're here on your stage. See, you guys didn't really give us a chance to answer back the other night. But guess what? That's gonna change. Camp Rock vs. Camp Star, the Final Jam. What do you guys think about that?"

"Drums." Sander called, and Nate began to play a steady beat.

"A little guitar, please." Jason and Shane began to play, joining their band mate.

"One, two, three, four."

"Yeah!"

_I hope you're ready for the time of your life  
__Just look at me I put a gleam in your eye  
Buckle up  
We're gonna take you for a ride  
Let's go  
We got you going  
Get in the vibe  
Everybody put your hands to the sky  
Buckle up  
We're gonna take you take you high  
S__how me show me show me show me show what you got  
Come on come on come on come on ready or not  
La-la-la-la-la-la let me see how you bop  
It's on it's on it's on  
Get crazy crazy crazy; take it over the top  
Cause we cause we cause when we rock we let it rock  
Rock it rock it rock it; dance till we drop  
It's on it's on it's on  
Okay now are you ready?  
One two One two three four  
Showstoppin when I step in the place  
Before it's done you're gonna beg me to stay  
Get on board  
Come on; let's ride the wave  
Let's go let's go  
We just do what we do  
Watch me break and pop  
I'll blast it for you  
You wanna rock like us?  
Cause we're never second place  
You ready?  
Show me show me show me show me show what you got  
Come on come on come on come on ready or not  
La-la-la-la-la-la let me see how you bop  
It's on it's on it's on  
Get crazy crazy crazy; take it over the top  
'Cause we cause we cause when we rock we let it rock  
Rock it rock it rock it; dance till we drop  
It's on it's on it's on  
Okay now are you ready?  
Come on  
One two One two three  
The-the-the-there is no competition  
That's why we're in the number one position  
Your crew can't hang with us  
Man we're too dangerous  
Ain't got the style or the stamina  
Just doin' my thing  
Get hooked on my swing  
Rockin' the place droppin' the bass  
Makin all the girls sing  
Yeah we make the bells ring  
It's on it's on  
Drums Yeah  
A little guitar please  
One two three four  
Show me show me show me show me show what you got  
Come on come on come on come on ready or not  
La-la-la-la-la-la let me see how you bop  
It's on it's on it's on  
Show me  
Get crazy crazy crazy; take it over the top  
Cause we cause we cause when we rock we let it rock  
Rock it rock it rock it; dance till we drop  
It's on it's on it's on _

_Show me show me show me show me show what you got  
Come on come on come on come on ready or not  
What you got La-la-la-la-la-la let me see how you bop It's on it's on it's on  
Get crazy crazy crazy; take it over the top  
Over the top  
Cause we 'cause we 'cause when we rock we let it rock  
Rock it rock it rock it; dance till we drop I  
t's on it's on it's on  
One two  
One two three four  
It's on!_

"That is a fantastic idea." Axel had been sitting unnoticed in the audience. He began to applud before descending the vast staircase. "Truly. I'm impressed. A little healthy competition is exactly what we need. A champion always needs a good sparring partner."

Luke looked at him like he had lost his mind. "We do?"

"But you really think that you can, uh, take my guys on head-to-head?"

"Any time," Peggy crossed her arms, looking Axel in the eye until he looked away. "Any place."

"Can't wait." Shane added, coming to stand next to Mitchie. He gave Luke a warning look, still pissed about the night he had grabbed her.

"Maybe use our amphitheater." He suggested, gesturing to the vast space.

"Doesn't matter where. We just know that Camp Rock is gonna blow you guys away." Mitchie said confidetly. Her friends egged her on.

"I'm sure an audience would be a better judge of that."

Caitlyn,stood next to Nate; she wanted Dana to see them. "Bring it on. You can pack it with anybody you want."

"Well, how about a worldwide audience? What if we put this little competition on TV? Have the public decide who's really the best." "TV?"

Ella's eyes were wide. Being on TV was one thing she could check off on her bucket list. "We'd really get to be on TV?"

Now she wasn't so sure. Axel could easily buy the votes. "Ugh, I don't really know about this."

"Not such a big talker now, are you?" Luke took a taunting step forwards, trying to intimidate her.

"Watch it," Shane hissed, his arm stretching out in front of her. Mitchie left it there, never feeling more safe than when she was with him.

"But that would be so cool!"

"The whole world would see us."

"Ugh..."

Sander touched her arm. "Come on, Mitchie. This could be _huge_."

The other campers watched her intently, waiting for her answer.

"You're on."

"Yeah!" Shane exchanged high fives with his band mates.

A hand wrapped around her arm, pulling her off to the side and away from the safety of her friends. "Are you sure you wanna do this, _Mitchie_?" Luke demanded, still taunting her. "I don't want you to get hurt,"

"Are you threatening her?" Shane's voice was dark, dangerous. He shoved her back behind him, the force of his push enough to make her lose her balance. Without even looking, his hand curled around her wrist and kept her steady. "Cause that would be a _very_ big mistake on your part,"

He laughed nervously. "I...I'm not scared of you, pretty boy."

"Oh really?"

"Jason! Nate!" They appeared at her side, grabbing Shane under his arms and pulling him away. His heels dug in the ground, and he refused to release his hold on his girlfriend.

"Come on guys," Nate caught Dana looking at him as he pulled Mitchie free before rounding up the rest of the campers. "It's time to go,"

Caitlyn brushed past Tess, who stuck her foot out and tripped her former friend,

"Ow," She muttered, landing on her knees. Hands were on either side of her body suddenly, pulling her to her feet.

"Nice going, Tess." Nate shot a glare in the blonde's direction. He took his friend's hand in his, inspecting the bleeding scrape. "Come on, Cait."

Jason and Mitchie were now holding Shane back; Jason doing most of the actual work since she was so tiny. She pulled on his arm, begging him to stop.

He still tried to break free to get to Luke. Shane yelled at him as Nate gently pushed Mitchie away, taking her spot. "I swear to god if you _ever_ touch her again..."

"Let's go!" Mitchie yelled at the rest of the Camp Rockers. "Now."

* * *

"I wrote this song a long time ago and I kind of forgot about it," Mitchie admitted to them the next morning. They were standing in the mess hall, waiting for her to return with her song book. "But I think it could work." "

It's a duet." Nate sounded surprised, reading the words over her shoulder. Every time she wrote a new song, she would sing it for him, and if she didn't have the music, he would come up with the notes on his guitar. They had written so many songs together.

"Now." She admitted. That song had been inspired by a very important person to her. "But I think I could rewrite it and make a part for everybody."

"Or we can rewrite it." Shane muttered, making her smile at him.

Ella had the song now, and her pretty eyes were full of confusion. "I lay pretty, pretty flowers on your grave. Am I the only one who thinks this song is, like, totally depressing?"

"You're on the wrong page." Peggy told her softly.

"Yeah, that song was for my hamster's funeral."

"Oh, this is perfect!"

"The staging could be pretty cool."

Caitlyn inspected it. "Yeah, it looks like there's some great spots for dancing."

"And it's got a great groove."

"Well, before we get ahead of ourselves, guys, I got a couple conditions."

They watched him carefully, wondering if he was actually about to say something helpful, or responsible.

Nate raised an eye brow. "You've got conditions?"

"Yes." Jason rolled his eyes, as if it were impossible for him to have a condition. "Well, a condition. There has to be a spot for my junior rockers."

"Of course." Mitchie laughed. "That's what this is all about. So, what do you guys think?"

"I think somebody should talk to Uncle Brown." Shane reminded everyone, stopping their excitement.

"Why? I already know what he's gonna say."


	9. Chapter 9

"How could she do that?" Brown demanded to Connie. They were in his office, after he had called her in for a talk about her daughter. "I _told_ them. I told Mitchie. Axel Turner cannot be trusted."

"I don't know why you're getting so upset. At the very least, Camp Rock could get some great exposure."

"He took advantage is what he did. He saw an opportunity and went for it. An opportunity to destroy me once and for all."

Connie sighed. "And I thought Mitchie could be dramatic. Okay, then, just call him and say no. it's not that big a deal."

"Oh, we're well past big deal." He dropped down onto his desk chair, turning the computer around so she could see. "Look. "Camp Wars." Catchy. Yeah, I especially like the tag line, "Only one will survive.""

"Millions of viewers will be watching. That's good, right?"

"After this, we are done. And not just for the summer, for good."

"Oh, come on. Brown. Give them a chance!"

Brown shook his head, trying to make her understand. "Look, nobody believes in my rockers more than I do, but we are gonna look like a joke next to Camp Star. We don't have the resources, the infrastructure, the money..."

"Talent, passion, commitment, yeah, we've got that."

He turned away from her. "It's not gonna matter."

"It _always_ matters." Connie reminded him. She was growing angry.

"And when people watch, where do you think they're gonna send their kids to camp?"

She would never stop defending her daughter. "She didn't do it on purpose."

"I know. I just wish she wouldn't have fallen into the trap."

Mitchie, standing outside of his office, had heard every word.

Her eyes filled with tears and she ran off before they could stop her.

"Mitchie," Nate reached out to catch her, his arms encircling her waist. She slipped out of his grasp.

"Mitch!" Shane called; he, Nate and Jason had been working on a new song.

Jason gripped his shoulder and sat him back down. "Let Nate go," He advised.

Nate always had a way of making Mitchie feel better when no one else could and vise versa. It was such a close friendship. He nodded.

"Take good care of her,"

"I always do,"

* * *

Mitchie had gone past where any of her friends would be able to find her. Everything had been so perfect at that moment; she had never imagined the things that Brown had. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she began to sing.

_Here am I am, feels like the walls are closing in  
Once again, it's time to face it and be strong  
I wanna do the right thing now  
I know it's up to me somehow  
I've lost my way  
__If I could take it all back I would now  
I never meant to let you all down  
And now I've go to try to turn it all around  
And figure out how to fix this  
I know there's a way, so I promise  
I'm gonna clean up the mess I made  
Maybe it's not too late  
Maybe it's not too late  
So I'll take a stand even though it's complicated  
If I can I wanna change the way I made it  
I gotta do the right thing now I know it's up to me somehow  
I'll find my way  
If I could take it all back I would now  
I never meant to let you all down  
And now I've go to try to turn it all around  
And figure out how to fix this  
I know there's a way, so I promise  
I'm gonna clean up the mess I made  
Maybe it's not too late  
I'm gonna find the strength to be the  
One that holds it all together  
Show you that I'm sorry but  
I Know that we can make it better  
If I could take it all back I would now  
I never meant to let you all down  
And now I've got to try to turn it all around  
And figure out how to fix this  
I know there's a way, so I promise  
I'm gonna clean up the mess I made  
Maybe it's not too late  
I never meant to let you all down  
And now I've got to try to turn it all around  
And figure out how to fix this  
I know there's a way, so I promise  
I'm gonna clean up the mess I made  
Maybe it's not too late  
Maybe it's not too late_

She heard applause as she finished, making her whirl around.

Nate was leaning against a tree, his arms crossed as he watched her. "New song?"

Mitchie nodded.

He opened his arms and she ran into them. "Shh, Mitch. This is all gonna work out, alright?"

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because," Nate said simply. "I believe in everything you do, and I know you'll see this through to the end."

She pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes and saw that he meant it. She burrowed her face back into his chest.

"You just need a little faith,"

"No." Mitchie muttered. "We need a _lot_ of work,"

* * *

"Good morning, Camp Rock." Sander greeted over the loud speaker. "A message from Mitchie Torres: All rockers, please report to the main stage immediately. Yeah, that means you. Get moving."

"All right, Rockers." Mitchie stood with Barron, Sander, Ella, Peggy and Caitlyn on the stage. She had a mega phone in her hand so they could all hear her. "There are new schedules out on the board. From this moment on, everything is about winning the competition. Everything. We have to be completely focused."

"What about swimming and waterskiing and..."

"Focus." She hissed as the mega phone squeaked in Barron's ear. "Sorry. Oh, sorry again. Seriously, you guys, if we wanna save this camp, we have to put all of our energies into this and make it the best performance that any of us have ever put on. I mean, we may have our doubters, but we have come way too far just to back down. Agreed?"

"Agreed!"

"All right. Now, let's go get to work. Now."

Shane watched her, a frown on his face.

* * *

"I don't know what to do about this set, but it's just gotta be big. Think of the biggest thing you can imagine and then make it bigger." She said as she looked over the blank blue prints with Barron.

"All right."

"Thanks."

"Mitchie," Shane shook his head.

"We're moving in the wrong direction. There's even less time on this than the last one."

"Um, I've got a few minutes now."

"That's not what I mean."

Ella waved different samples of fabric in her friend's face. "Mitchie, can you look at this? I want us to coordinate, but not be all matchy-matchy."

"Mitchie..." Caitlyn ran in. "Hi, Shane."

"Hi."

"I know you're rewriting, but we've gotta make some decisions about the music."

"Mitchie, can I talk to you?" His words were rushed as he grabbed her arm, pulling her away.

"Do you know who's doing the vocal arrangements?" Peggy interrupted. Everyone else had her attention besides the one person who _needed_ it. "If it's me, fine, but somebody's gotta tell me."

"I'm sorry." Mitchie whispered to him, her eyes sad. She joined Peggy at the piano and began to sort through the music.

Shane let the door slam behind him, not aware that she was watching him.


	10. Chapter 10

Nate watched Dana through his binoculars.

She was sitting at the piano, alone this time. She had grown aware of him watching her, and in revenge, she brought out her own pair of binoculars.

"I don't even know why I'm here." Shane hissed as he stalked up the path. He stopped, ready to give his friend a good piece of advice. "Take my advice and never get a girlfriend."

"I don't think that'll be a problem." He mumbled. She waved at him, a smile on her beautiful face. He let the binoculars fall around his neck and waved back lamely.

* * *

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Mitchie demanded, walking into the mess hall. No one was following the schedule. "I thought you were gonna be rehearsing."

"Whoa, calm down. We've been rehearsing for over five hours. We're just taking a little break."

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "Because I was watching, and it looks like we're gonna need a lot more work."

She walked over to where Barron and Ella were laughing hysterically. She knew something was _definitely _going on between them, but she was too stressed out to care about it right then and there. "You guys done already?"

"No." Peggy laughed again. "He was telling me about his sister. It's hilarious! You have to tell her."

Barron opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off.

"Oh, is it the one about the group of kids that didn't take their jobs seriously and then the camp shut down? Yeah, I think I've heard it."

Jason, picking the worst time ever, came over with a few of his Junior Rockers. "Hey, Mitchie! You gotta check out this bit me and the J.R.'s worked out. It's a real spotlight moment."

Mitchie took a deep breath and tried to smile at them. They were just kids; they didn't deserve her harsh attitude. "That's great. I'm sure whatever it is, it's just gonna have to be more of a background moment."

Sander and Ella were sitting at another table, smiling at each other. Was something going on with them too?

"Sander, what's going on? You guys haven't made any progress since I left like half an hour ago. You guys have to get this thing built. You guys have to work with me."

He looked up at her, his eyes narrowed. "If I wanted to go to Camp Star I would have signed up."

That comment hurt more than anything. "Okay, that's not fair. I'm just trying to get stuff done, but if you guys don't care..."

"Mitchie." Caitlyn shook her head, jumping to her feet. She tried to calm her best friend down. "We all care, but you gotta lighten up."

"Really?" Mitchie's gaze was icy. "And what will that get us?" She spat at her best friend before walking away.

"All right, okay." She sighed, getting back into position. "Let's do it again."

She frowned. "That girl is taking the _f u n_ out of summer."

"There is no _f u n_ in summer."

"Exactly." Ella rolled her eyes, annoyed. Sander wrapped an arm around her shoulder, shaking her gently.

Peggy sighed. She was worried about Mitchie. "Seriously, I love her, but I'm gonna kill her."

Shane was watching them, his arms were crossed and he looked frustrated. He was worried about her too. Mitchie had a tendency to get out of control with things like this; she always had. It usually blew back up in her face. He couldn't let that happen again. Especially with her problems with her weight and her razor.

"Okay," Brown whispered in his ear. "I think you know what you've gotta do."

"I'm on it."

* * *

Jason tried to get his campers under control. "Guys, guys, calm down. She didn't say no, she said she'd think about it."

Just like in an old western movie, the door to their cabin opened and there stood Shane, a playful look in his eyes.

"All work and no spray makes a very unhappy rocker. So I got a proposition for you guys. You think you're up for it?"

* * *

"Okay, we have a ton of stuff to go over." Mitchie stood on the main stage, scanning the crowd. "Where is everybody? Seriously, people have got to start being on time."

"Attack!" Shane and the Junior Rockers appeared out of no where with water guns and a hose. The camp erupted in a full on water attack.

"Oh, this was not on the schedule." Connie muttered, waiting for her daughter's reaction.

"Are you kidding?" Brown demanded as he ran off to join them. "This is what summer camp is all about. Counterattack! Come on!"

They chased him into the lake. Mitchie watched in disgust before walking away and taking her music with her.

* * *

"Has anybody seen Mitchie?" Shane asked later that night.

Their friends were sitting around a camp fire, laughing.

Caitlyn sighed. She was worried about her best friend, but didn't want to think about what she could be doing when she was all alone. "Um, I don't know. She missed dinner."

He sighed. He was going to have to make her eat, apparently. "Okay, thanks."

* * *

Mitchie was in the music room, working on the sheet music.

"Your sheet music's soggy." He teased as he walked in, setting his flashlight down on the piano.

"Just pouring myself into my music." She replied, smiling at her lame joke.

Shane laughed. "That was bad."

"Yeah, I know. Um...Are you here to help?"

"I can't."

She finally looked up, surprised. Just two days ago, he had offered to help her rewrite the song. "Why?"

"Because you and I are going on a moonlight picnic." Shane patted the basket that was hanging over his shoulder.

"_Now?" _

_"Right_ now."

"How could you..."

"Because I'm that nice of a guy." Shane interrupted. Even with his attitude change, he could still be so full of himself.

"Think that I would just go running off?" Mitchie finished, shaking her head angrily.

"Are you saying no?"

She gave him a look, willing him to understand what he had done wrong. "Do you not understand everything that needs to get done?"

"How could I not?" He shot back. "You remind me every two seconds."

"And the water-balloon fight. I mean, what were you thinking?"

"I was thinking, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a little fun?"" As soon as the words left his mouth, Shane wished he could take them back. But their fight was just starting.

"So you're saying I'm not fun?" Mitchie's eyes went wide. That was one of the worst things he had ever said to her, even after eighteen years of being best friends with the arrogant pop star.

"Why do I even keep trying?" His voice was icy. They refused to look each other in the eye, knowing if they did, one of them would break. "The whole reason I came was because..."

"I know. It was to get to know me better. Well, guess what. This is me trying to save something that I care about." She used the words to her old song; using his own sweet words against him.

"So am I."

"Really?" Mitchie shook her head, her eyes narrowing. "And how's that working out for you?"

"Not so great." Shane replied, grabbing the picnic basket. He started towards the door, stopping hopefully when he heard her say his name.

"Shane." She called after him, holding out the object. "You forgot your flashlight."

* * *

Shane made his way to the cabin, grabbing his guitar. He began to play a melody he and Nate had been working on for the past few days,

_It's like, he doesn't hear a word I say  
His mind is somewhere far away  
And I don't know how to get there  
It's like all he wants is to chill out  
__She's serious  
He makes me wanna pull all my hair out  
She's always in a rush and interrupted  
Like he doesn't even care  
Like she doesn't even care  
You, me  
We're face to face  
But we don't see eye to eye  
Like fire and rain  
Like fire and rain  
You can drive me insane  
You can drive me insane  
But I can't stay mad at you for anything  
We're Venus and Mars  
Venus and Mars  
We're like different stars  
Like different stars  
You're the harmony to every song I sing  
And I wouldn't change a thing  
She's always trying to save the day  
Just wanna let my music play  
She's all or nothing  
But my feeling's never change  
Why does he try to read my mind?  
I try to read her mind  
It's not good to psychoanalyze  
She tries to pick a fight to get attention  
That's what all of my friends say  
That's what all of my friends say  
You, me  
We're face to face  
But we don't see eye to eye  
Like fire and rain  
Like fire and rain  
You can drive me insane  
You can drive me insane  
But I can't stay mad at you for anything  
We're Venus and Mars  
Venus and Mars  
We're like different stars  
Like different stars  
But you're the harmony to every song I sing  
And I wouldn't change a thing  
When I'm yes, she's no  
When I hold on, he just lets go  
We're perfectly imperfect  
But I wouldn't change a thing, no  
Like fire and rain  
Like fire and rain  
You can drive me insane  
You can drive me insane  
But I can't stay mad at you for anything  
We're Venus and Mars  
Venus and Mars  
We're like different stars  
Like different stars  
But you're the harmony to every song I sing  
And I wouldn't change a thing  
But I can't stay mad at you for anything  
We're Venus and Mars  
Venus and Mars  
We're like different stars  
Like different stars  
But you're the harmony to every song I sing  
And I wouldn't change a  
Wouldn't change a thing_

They passed each other, and stopped.

Mitchie wanted so badly to run to him, but she kept walking. Shane let the door to the cabin slam behind him.

Nate and Jason watched them before nodding at each other. Nate went to Shane, Jason went to Mitchie,

"Hi, munchkin," He muttered, reaching down to lift her into his arms. "Wanna talk about it?"

"Hey man," Nate greeted, walking inside.

Shane muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Go away." But his friend stayed, dropping down onto his bed.

"Wanna talk about it?"

He let out a long sigh. "Why don't I feel like I know her anymore? I've known her her entire life, and she's a stranger to me right now."

"Shane," Nate laughed quietly. "Don't you see it? How hard she's trying to please everyone? How hard she's working to make everyone happy? She doesn't want to screw this up for Brown, Caitlyn, Peggy, El, Jase, Barron, Sander, me, and especially you, my close minded friend,"

Shane considered this before a grin appeared on his face. "I am such an idiot. I should have been trying to help her."

He nudged the older boy's shoulder with his own. "In the words of Mitchie: _It's not too late._"


	11. Chapter 11

"Where is everybody?" Mitchie wondered as she walked outside. She had woken up to find the girls beds empty, and then the boys too.

"All right, now let's look at the alto harmony on measure 15." Peggy told her group of singers. "There's a four-bar rest. Good morning."

"Morning." She replied, surprised. They were all outside, actually _working._

"Oh, hold on." Caitlyn told her dancers; she jumped off the stage and joined her best friend.

"What's going on?" Mitchie demanded, wanting to get straight to the point. The others laughed.

"You were right." Ella told her, looking up from her sketch book. "It shouldn't be all up to you. And we do need to step it up."

"Shane got everybody up before dawn. He can be pretty persuasive when he wants to be."

"He threatened to use cold water. Didn't he?"

Caitlyn nodded grimly. "How do you think he got Jason up?"

"Morning." Shane sat down on the edge of the stage, handing her a sheet of music. "Sleep well? I don't think you got the new arrangement yet. Needed a lot of work." He teased.

She raised an eye brow. "You did this?"

"_We_ all did."

"I already know I'm gonna love it." Mitchie muttered, locking eyes with him. She meant it. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." He grinned; he pulled her closer so he could kiss her forehead before standing up again and turning to the rest of the campers. "All right, let's get started. We gotta rock this stage like we own it, right?" They began to cheer. "Now, I can hear you, but I gotta see you play. Nate, show them how it's done."

"Like this." Nate told the drummers in his class. They mimicked the beat he had played.

"Excellent. Jason, show them how to rock." "Okay, guys, not like this,"

Jason played a regular melody on his guitar. "But like this. Good job!"

Caitlyn jumped back on the stage, a smile on her face as she faced the dark haired rock star. "Well, it's easy for you guys, but we're not all rock stars."

Shane offered her a wink. "But you can be."

_Oh, yeah, alright, hmm  
Gather 'round guys  
It's time to start listening  
Practice makes perfect  
But perfect's not workin'  
There's a lot more to music than knowing where your cue's gonna be  
You can play all the right notes  
But that don't mean you're movin' me  
But if you can jump like David Lee Roth  
Or pump your fist like your Bruce "The Boss"  
If you got a heart and soul  
You can rock and roll  
Rock and roll Strummin  
Drummin Slide across from runnin'  
The stage is your home if you learn how to own it  
Like the great Stid  
There's no way that you can fake it  
You've got to feel the beat before you can move  
Even though you're not wearing blue suede shoes  
Makin' mistakes  
But that won't matter  
If you can swagg like 'ol Mick Jagger  
If you got a heart and soul  
You can rock and roll  
You can rock and roll  
If you live and you die  
For the music inside  
If the one for five never gets sold  
Then you can rock and roll  
Rock and roll  
Alright now take it low  
Now I need the spotlight to hit right here  
As the crowd starts to cheer  
I need the fan to blow right through my rock star hair  
Right here If you can scream like Axl Rose  
Or sing like Xtina show after show  
If you've got a heart and soul  
You can rock and roll  
If you've got a heart and soul  
You can rock and roll  
You can rock and roll  
Oh, yeah Oh, oh, yeah  
You can rock and roll_

* * *

Nate walked down the path, dropping down onto a nearby bench. His classes were done for the day, and he was exhausted.

"Hi, Nate." Dana greeted, not predicting that her hello would send him and the bench flying backwards. "Oh, I...I'm so sorry!" She stammered as they got the bench back to its former position. "Are you okay?!"

"Hi, Dana." Nate laughed, brushing himself off. He was surprised to see her. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think?" He grinned.

"You came to see me?"

That earned him an eye roll. "Good guess."

"Well, here I am."

"That's it?" Dana eyed him carefully. "I came all the way over here in a canoe risking my father's wrath, and that's all you have to say to me?"

He panicked. What had he done wrong?! "I don't know what else I'm supposed to say."

"There's nothing you're supposed to say. Every day I see you looking and waving and I'm all, "That's so sweet, I so like him.""

"You do?" Nate asked hopefully. "Really, that's...That's what you say?"

"But then..."

"But then? That's never good."

"How do I really know if I don't know anything about you?" She demanded; he thought she was overreacting slightly. This conversation didn't make any sense. "I guess I just thought you were different."

"I _am_ different." He was different; unlike Shane, the fame had never gone to his head and made him bitter.

"No, you're not. You're exactly like every other teenage boy in the world." Dana sighed, getting to her feet. "Have you ever told me anything about yourself? You know, other than you like canoeing."

"Well, I don't really like canoeing. That's always been Mitchie and Shane's thing. "I just took the canoe out to come and see you,"

"Oh. Oh, good. So I really know nothing about you."

Nate sighed. "I still don't know what I'm supposed to say."

Dana shook her head, spinning on her heel and walking away. "I think you just did."

"Idiot."

* * *

Connie handed Shane a note at lunch the next day. "Special order," She whispered, adding a wink. He read it, a grin spreading across his face before he ran out to the dock.

She was waiting there for him, a canoe all ready to go. They went around in circles, their favorite thing, and finally had their picnic.

He hated to leave her, especially when they held hands on the beach, her head on his shoulder. As he walked away, he glanced over his shoulder. She offered him a wave, her smile bright and beautiful.

* * *

"I take back what I said about girlfriends." Shane said to him later. They were in the cabin, looking out the window.

Nate shrugged. "It's all good, because at this rate, I'll never have one."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's this girl."

"I kind of figured."

"I really like her, but I'm having a hard time telling her how I really feel." Nate continued. It had been so easy to tell Caitlyn that he liked her...Why not with Dana?

"You're a rock star, dude." Jason reminded him, joining them. "Use it."

"I don't think she cares. She just wants to know all this stupid, random stuff about me."

Shane shook his head, reaching out to give him a light punch. "It's not random stuff. She just wants to know you care enough to let her know who you are."

"Well, I care. But I just don't know how to say it."

"Well, if you can't say it, you can sing it." Jason advised him before the two boys left him alone in his thoughts.


	12. Chapter 12

"Every single time I'm trying to sing my high note, I keep getting lost behind her big head." Luke complained to Axel. They were standing on stage, practicing over and _over_ again.

"Oh, no, you didn't." Tess hissed, starting towards him. They were speaking at the same time.

"You couldn't stand the spotlight."

"Now that you mention, I'm not trying to do anything."

"Enough!" Axel called over the both of them. "We'll run it again in three minutes. And this time, remember, it's not amateur hour."

"He means _you_."

"Hi, Dana." Nate greeted. He had his guitar and a folded up piece of paper in his hand.

"Oh!" She jumped, this time it was him who surprised _her_. Her music scattered everywhere.

He got down on his hands and knees to help her out. They cleaned up the music in no time. "Kind of makes you jump, doesn't it?"

"You shouldn't be here." Dana warned him, glancing around to see if anyone had spotted how out of place he looked.

"I know," Nate's voice was rushed; it was a rare occurrence, but he was nervous. "But I couldn't wait."

"Wait for what?"

"It's a list of things that nobody knows about me." He admitted, though it was technically a lie. Shane, Jason, Mitchie and his family knew these things about him.

"Two minutes."

Dana sighed, handing the list back to him. "I really gotta go. I'm sorry."

"Wait." He grabbed her arm, begging her to stay. "We still have two minutes."

"Okay."

_ I'm good at wasting time,  
I think lyrics need to rhyme,  
And you're not asking,  
But I'm trying to grow a mustache.  
I eat cheese, but only on pizza, please,  
Sometimes, on a homemade quesadilla.  
Otherwise it smells like feet to me.  
And I, I really like it when the moon looks like a toe nail.  
And I love you when you say my name._

"Places, everybody. Come on."

_If you wanna know, here it goes.  
Gonna tell you there's a part of me that shows,  
If we're close, gonna let you see everything,  
But remember that you asked for it.  
I'll try to do my best to impress,  
But it's easier to let you take a guess, at the rest,  
But you wanna hear what lives in my brain, my heart,  
Well you asked for it,  
For your perusing,  
At times confusing,  
Slightly amusing  
Introducing me!  
Do do do do do do,  
Do do do do do do.  
La da da da,  
La da da da da da da, da.  
I never trust a dog to watch my food._

"Come on, get a move on! We don't have all day!"

_And I like to use the word 'dude'  
As a noun, or an adverb, or an adjective  
And I, I never really been into cars.  
I like really cool guitars  
And superheroes  
And checks with lots of zeroes on em.  
I love the sound of violins and making someone smile  
Well you probably know more than you ever wanted to,  
So be careful when you ask next time._

"Dana!" Axel called angrily, going to find her.

_Do do do do do do,  
Do do do do do do.  
Do do do do  
Introducing me!_

"Dana." He frowned at the idea of his daughter once again being with the curly haired rock star. He tapped his foot impatiently. "Everyone's waiting."

"Sorry." Nate grinned at him obliviously. "It's my fault."

"Why don't you save the theatrics for the competition?" Axel came closer, going to stand in front of his daughter.

"It's okay." Dana promised him over her father's shoulder.

Nate reached out to take the list from her, but she held onto it tightly. "Go. Thank you."

"We'll talk about this later."

* * *

"And all that was left was a bloody footprint."

"_Lame_. Not even scary!"

"Yeah, totally not scary at all." Jason faked a laugh, though his campers could tell that their story had scared him more than anyone. "Okay, time for bed. Turn on the lights."

"But you called lights out."

"I know what I called!"

One of the Junior Rockers made a noise that scared the hell out of him. "What was that?!"

They began to laugh before laying down. Jason glared at them, turning over.

"Jason, do you think we're gonna win?"

"Yeah, Jason."

"Of course we're gonna win." He sounded surprised, as if the thought of losing never even crossed his mind. It hadn't. "You guys are rock stars."

"But what if they are too?" "I guess I really didn't think about that. Good night." He closed his eyes, but an idea kept coming to him, a very rare thing. "Everybody up."

* * *

"Shh. Follow my lead. We're on a mission." Jason told them a few minutes later, after they had left the cabin. "Okay, guys, stay low. Roll." He rolled down the hill, hurting himself every way possible. "Oh! Oh, a rock! Ow, ow, ow! Okay. Don't roll. Okay, gently, guys. Come on, carefully. Single file."

"Slow. Careful. Come on. Shh. Guys, come on."

Camp Star was still rehearsing, though it was past eleven. Axel was watching as Luke and Tess lip-sang; he had been on the look out for Camp Rock spies, so he forbid them to actually sing.

"Well?" Tess demanded, dropping her hands.

"Good. Maybe great. But this competition isn't about maybe."

The rivalry between the two teens was anything _but_ healthy. "Okay, fine. But can you tell her to stay out of my light? " "Well, maybe if you would stay out of my way, it wouldn't be a problem."

"Let me see "Tear it Down" instead. Let's reset, people. Come on. Move! This has to be perfect. Camp Rock isn't gonna know what hit them."

* * *

"And the stage was, like, _super_ cool."

"It's _huge_."

Shane held up a hand to cut the Junior Rockers off. He was still surprised that Jason had gone as far as to spy on Camp Star. It wasn't like him. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. Wait, so it's just Tess and Luke singing?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Everybody else is doing something, but they're definitely the stars."

"But this makes it so much easier. We could totally win this thing." Peggy thought out loud. Everyone besides Mitchie seemed to catch on.

"How so?"

"Oh, come on." Ella reached out and shook her. "Even _I_ get it. I don't care what they're singing, but you and Shane are better than Tess and Luke any day."

"But Shane and I aren't even singing together." She and Shane hadn't sang together since Final Jam the previous year.

"But you originally wrote the song as a duet."

"I know, but I..."

Barron grinned at her, trying to make her believe what they were saying. "You're our two strongest singers."

"And we know you have chemistry." Caitlyn teased, causing her best friend to blush. She was still obsessed.

Mitchie shook her head, still unsure. "It's just, everybody worked so hard."

Shane slipped his arm around her waist. He could sense her discomfort from a mile away.

"Yeah, to help save the camp. If the two of you singing alone on-stage can help us win, you have to do it."

"Then it's settled!" Peggy exclaimed, the others joining in agreement.

Mitchie saw the Junior Rockers sneak out the door, unreadable looks in their eyes.

* * *

"Remember when Audrey jumped on Jason?"

"Man, the shaving cream was the best one."

They sat on the steps of the mess hall, watching Trevor's camera and laughing at the right places.

"You guys okay with just Shane and I singing?" She had walked outside to check on them.

"Yeah, we're good." Trevor promised her. They went back to laughing at the camera.

"I was just looking forward to doing some of my new moves."

"But it's okay, if it means we get to come back here next summer."

She smiled, surprised. "You guys had a good summer?"

"Only the best summer ever." They handed her the camera, loving the way her eyes lit up as she watched their prank on Jason. Her smile grew, and she threw her arms around them in a hug.

"You guys just gave me the best idea _ever_.

"_Eww_!" The ten year old boys cried, trying to push her away.

"Thank you!" Mitchie told them again. She ran back inside. "Hey, guys, new plan. Everyone meet in ten minutes!"


	13. Chapter 13

"So," Caitlyn said to Nate. They were sitting outside, their arms touching as they watched the sun set over the lake. "You really like this girl, huh?"

He looked at her, surprised. But then again, Caitlyn had always had the ability to be observant when she wanted to be. "That obvious, huh?"

She giggled. "Not really. I just know you well enough,"

Nate nodded, figuring that much. "Cait..."

"Yeah?"

"Are you ever going to forgive me?"

Caitlyn sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. He was quick to wrap his arm around her waist as a sigh of comfort.

"Nate," She sighed again and shook her head. "I'm not gonna lie and say that you didn't break my heart when you broke up with me the way you did, but over the last few weeks I've realized that even if you and I can't be together...Well, I'd rather have you in my life as a friend than not have you in it at all,"

Nate held her closer, if that were even possible. "You're amazing, Caitlyn. I hope...I hope you know how much you mean to me, Cait. You're my best friend,"

"And you're mine,"

* * *

" Hello, and welcome to Hitz TV. I'm Georgina Farlow. And today we're bringing you Camp Wars, the ultimate summer-camp showdown. Now, there can be only one winner this Final Jam, and your votes are gonna help us decide. Just call or text in after each performance...Kids, make sure to have your parents' permission.. and let us know who you think sang out and who you think hit a wrong note. What's your favorite camp, Camp Star or Camp Rock? And we're out. Okay."

"Georgina." Axel greeted the older, big haired woman with a kiss on the cheek. "It's great to see you."

"As always, Axel." Georgina responded with a tight smile. "Well, I'm gonna go backstage and do some standup before the concert."

"Good luck."

"Thank you."

"You, ugh..." Brown's voice trailed off as he walked over to his former band member. "You know her?"

He laughed. "No, I know _everyone_. But don't worry, she doesn't have anything to do with the voting."

"Oh. So I probably shouldn't hold out hope for us ever being friends again?"

"Probably not." Axel said truthfully. "Though you never know. Next year I might hire you to run my summer camp."

"Thanks." He turned to walk away. "But I'm already booked."

* * *

"Good luck." Tess whispered to Luke as they waited to go on stage.

"I'll be lucky if you don't forget your words this time." He responded.

"By "good luck" I mean "I hope you fall off the stage.""

* * *

"As the sun goes down, the volume goes up. Welcome back to the ultimate summer camp showdown, where you decide the winner." Georgina greeted the audience. "Now, first up is Camp Star. Now, Camp Star was founded only this year by superstar producer and founder of Star Records, Axel Turner... who's been producing for over 20 years. Now, I know if I was gonna study music, this is the place I'd wanna be."

"Why is she saying that?" Caitlyn whispered to the others as they sat backstage.

"It's her job. She's supposed to say nice things."

"If she doesn't stop talking, I think I'm gonna throw up." Ella warned them before runing for the bathroom. "Too late."

"Well, there's no turning back now, because the party has already started. Camp Star, everybody."

The crowd began to cheer as Luke and Tess, along with their back up dancers ran on stage,

_I was ready for this since I was cradling  
Put my name on the list  
You won't be gambling  
Not gonna leave with just this we're gonna take everything  
Confidence, compliments  
Bet you see it's evident  
Catch me if you can,  
__I'm like a bandit  
I can float on my feet, you can't stand it  
I don't just dance in a group,  
I command it  
We give you more than you want if you can handle it  
When we're out on the floor, we'll take over the ball  
Stealing the show  
We're gonna leave you in awe  
When we're coming up, when we're coming up  
We gonna tear it down  
You can't stop us now  
You can't shut us down  
You can't top the sound  
Better get ready now  
We gonna tear it down  
The looks we got 'em  
The moves we got 'em  
The style we got it  
We gonna tear it down  
The love we got it  
The crowd we own it  
Tonight we run it  
We gonna tear it down  
Coming in so hard,  
I'm on my "A" game Don't dispute the art, I'm like a heavyweight  
Yeah,  
I got this far,  
I'm a renegade "A" game, heavyweight, renegade, piece of cake  
I could do this dance with my eyes closed  
When I step on the scene  
I leave 'em all froze  
You wanna rumble with me,  
I write the protocol  
Innovative on the stage  
Set the record straight  
When we're out on the floor  
__We'll take over the ball  
__Stealing the show  
__We're gonna leave you in awe  
When we're coming up, when we're coming up  
We're gonna tear it down  
You can't stop us now  
You can't shut us down  
__You can't top the sound  
Better get ready now  
We gonna tear it down  
The looks we got 'em  
The moves we got 'em  
The style we got it  
We gonna tear it down  
The love we got it  
The crowd we own it  
Tonight we run it  
We gonna tear it down  
Yes, yes,  
dem no wan to contest we  
Recognize we the best that can be  
Sing, dance, rap, get hands the clap  
Of course you know that you can't  
Hold a candle to our flames  
Tear it up, yeah, we're taking names  
It's not a game  
It's a shame you can't be like us  
Can't be like us  
We leave you in the dust  
Of course we tear it up  
When we're out on the floor  
We'll take over the ball  
Stealing the show  
We're gonna leave you in awe  
When we're coming up. when we're coming up  
We gonna tear it down  
You can't stop us now  
You can't shut us down Y  
ou can't top the sound  
Better get ready now  
We gonna tear it down  
The looks we got 'em  
The moves we got 'em  
The style we got it  
We gonna tear it down  
The love we got it  
The crowd we own it  
Tonight we run it  
We gonna tear it down_


	14. Chapter 14

The crowd rose to their feet, screaming, "Camp Star, everyone. Oh! Remember, if you loved them as much as I did, call or text in now. But don't go anywhere, because in a moment we're gonna hear from Camp Rock."

Peggy found Ella in a spare room, covered in glitter. "What happened to you?"

Ella glanced up at her. "When I get nervous I sparkle things."

The girls laughed.

* * *

"Would you stop and listen?" Tess demanded, her hands still shaking. As mush as she hated to admit it, something was missing.

"You sounded good too." Luke said, not missing a beat. He refused to look at her.

"Hey, you guys were incredible." Mitchie jumped out of her chair to greet them. No matter how much of a diva she was, Tess was still her friend.

Shane shot Luke a warning look, daring him to try and touch his girlfriend.

"I know, right?" Luke tried to break eye contact with the rock star. "Only one thing would've made it better: doing it solo."

"I totally agree." She hissed before turning back to her friends. "It's this banter thing that we...Thanks. Good luck."

* * *

Georgina was checking her makeup when she noticed Brown's reflection in her mirror. "Quite a performance, eh?"

"No denying it. But don't count those votes just yet, love. I think you're gonna be very impressed."

"I don't need to be impressed. It'd be a miracle if Axel didn't win."

That stopped him. "Excuse me?"

"Do you know how much money he spent marketing this? He's paying to text and tweet every cell phone user in the western hemisphere. You don't even need to see the show to know to vote for Camp Star."

"_One minute_."

* * *

"How come I just got a text telling me to vote for Camp Star?" Peggy demanded as they walked to their places.

"I just got one too."

Caitlyn frowned. "Um, it's asking me if I wanna download Camp Star's song as my ring tone."

Shane reached over, taking her phone so he could read the text; he deleted it, before handing it back. "Like hell you would."

* * *

Nate had snuck off to see Dana, bringing her a very hard to find white rose. "You were really a star."

"Thanks." She said with a dreamy smile. Nate Black had just given her a flower!

"And I really gotta go." He started to leave, but stopped. "Oh, I hate crust on my bread, and birds make me nervous."

That last sentence would have earned him a slap from Jason.

"Excuse me." Nate started to go around Axel. "Oh, uh, that performance was amazing."

"Thank you. Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Yes, but, you know, once you start expressing your innermost thoughts and feelings, it's kind of hard to stop. Wish us luck."

"Good luck!" Dana called.

"Dana," Her father crossed his arms. "He is the _enemy_."

"No, he's not." She held the flower close. "Not everything in life is a competition. But I think I just won."

* * *

"And we're back. If you liked Camp Star, get ready to be blown away by Camp Rock. Now, Camp Rock was founded by rock icon and legendary lead guitarist Brown Cesario!"

"You ready?" Shane asked her. He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Let's do this." Mitchie answered, ready as she would ever be.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Camp Rock!"

_They say that life is a two-way street  
When you're not sure, you gotta trust your feet  
To know the right way  
You can keep on moving with your head down  
Or you can stop and take a look around  
And that's the choice I've made  
I've made, yeah  
It's for that movie inside your head  
Making memories we can't forget  
But when you can't forget  
You're gonna know in your soul  
This is what we came here for  
So live it loud, here and now  
This moment, it won't be ignored  
So why not open up that door?  
It's what we came here for  
For every song we let play outside  
The melodies we get to write  
Every time we sing, oh yeah  
The friends we've made, the fun we've had  
Remembering's gonna make me laugh  
It's a beautiful thing  
So beautiful  
I wanna send it around the world  
Around the world  
Cause everybody should feel this good  
Cause when you feel this good  
You're gonna know in your soul  
This is what we came here for  
This is what we came here for  
So live it loud, here and now  
This moment, it won't be ignored  
So why not open up that door?  
It's what we came here for  
No, the fun's just getting started  
Just celebrating where we are  
And loving where we are  
You're gonna know in your soul  
This is what we came here for  
So live it loud, here and now  
This moment, it won't be ignored  
You're gonna know in your soul  
This is what we came here for  
So live it loud, here and now  
This moment, it won't be ignored  
And we'll  
So why not open up that door?  
Open up that door  
So come on; open up that door  
It's what we came here, oh yeah  
It's what we came here for  
It's what we came here  
Came here for_


	15. Chapter 15

Shane finished, letting out a loud cheer before pulling Mitchie in for a hug. She felt her feet leave the ground for a second.

Their performance was everything she had hoped for, the videos captured by Trevor playing in the background and making the audience laugh.

"Weren't they incredible?" Georgina asked. "So call in now, and tell us which summer camp rules. And don't go anywhere. We'll be right back."

The Camp Rockers stood side by side, grinning at each other.

"Call in, call in!" Sander probed.

Brown cheered on his campers backstage. "Yes!"

"Impressive," Axel told him. "But it'll never sell."

"You know, uh, it should still be about the music."

"Maybe so, but that's why you'll never make it in this business."

"That's fine. I don't wanna be in your business." Georgina was on the stage with the kids. They waited anxiously.

"And the results are in..."

Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Georgina announced the winners. Camp Star. Mitchie's face fell as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

Axel had lifted Luke off the ground, his campers crowding around the two.

Dana wrapped her arms Nate's neck in a soft embrace. She whispered in his ear about how sorry she was. He pulled away, trying to smile at her before going off in search of Caitlyn. She was about ready to collapse when he got there, and he rushed to her side, wrapping his arms around her. They cried together.

Shane was trying to stay strong for his girl, his arm wrapped heavily around her shoulder as she cried.

A hand touched her arm, turning her around slightly to face them. Tess.

_I'm sorry_. She mouthed.

Brown was quick to get his campers back to Camp Rock. No one said a word.

* * *

"You know, I was thinking about keeping this as a souvenir." She told Shane after he had folded up the American flag.

"Can't believe we lost." Shane's voice was barely above a whisper. His eyes still looked so grim.

"Every song can't be a hit. Isn't that what you told me? It doesn't mean we have to stop singing." Mitchie reminded him with a sad smile.

She let out a long breath. "I'm really sorry I didn't spend more time with you this summer."

"Hey, the whole reason I came here..."

"Was to get to know me better." She finished, coming closer to him.

"And I've learned everything I need to know." Shane muttered.

They shared a smile before her arms flew around his neck and their lips met. They pulled away, a dreamy look in both of their eyes. He grabbed her hand and led her down the path.

It was time for their last camp fire.

* * *

Shane and Mitchie sat down on one of the logs. Nate and Jason began to play guitar together, inviting him to start singing.

_So let's sing  
Na Na na na na  
Hey ya  
Come on let's sing  
Na Na na na na  
Hey ya  
This is our song  
That's all that matters  
Cause we all belong  
Right here together  
There's nothing better  
Than singing along  
This is our summer  
This is our song  
Come grab your guitar  
Sit by the fire  
'Cause we all need a song  
When we're weary and tired  
We'll sit here  
Together  
And sing it out loud  
And sing it out loud  
This is our song  
That's all that matters  
Cause we all belong  
Right here together  
There's nothing better  
Than singing along  
This is our summer  
And this is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song_

"What's that?" Trevor asked as he pointed to the canoes in the water.

"Hey, you guys, look."

"Check it out!"

"Hi," Tess greeted, Dana at her side. "We saw the fire."

"We really don't get to do this kind of thing..."

"So we were hoping there was room for some of us to join."

He smiled a little. "There's always room."

Tess stopped, letting some of the campers go on ahead of her. "Brown, if it's okay with you, I'd really like to come back to Camp Rock next summer."

Brown waved her along, his smile growing. "Come on."

_Come on let's sing Na Na na na na Hey ya_

"Hey, can I get a little help inside? The phones are going crazy." Connie asked as she ran outside.

"Yeah, sure, I'll help." The former Junior Rockers counselor agreed, following at her heels.

"I told my parents I wanna come here instead next summer."

Nate and Caitlyn grinned at each other before beginning to sing louder.

_Come on let's sing Na Na na na na Hey ya Come on let's sing Na Na na na na Hey ya_

"Please, can you put us on the list? This place is so much more fun."

"I'm sure we can work something out." Brown promised them as the song went on.

The campers jumped to their feet.

Everything was going to be okay.

_Come on let's sing Na Na na na na Hey ya Yeah This is our song That's all that matters 'Cause we all belong Right here together There's nothing better Than singing along This is our summer Our summer This is our song That's all that matters Cause we all belong  
Right here together  
There's nothing better  
Than singing along  
This is our summer  
This is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song  
This is our song_

Shane looked down at his girlfriend before pulling her in for a hug. She joined him in a group hug with Brown.

"Munchkin!" Jason cheered, pulling her away. He lifted her feet off the ground and threw her over his shoulder, making the rest of them laugh.

"Caitlyn," Tess stood behind her. "You guys were really, _really_ great...Look, I'm sorry, okay? I know I have a lot to be sorry for, but this especially. I should have been there for you guys, and..."

"Tess," Caitlyn interrupted, laughing at her friend. "Shut up."

They embraced each other before Peggy and Ella joined in welcoming her back.


	16. Chapter 16

Even later that night, Shane went in search of his girlfriend. He knew exactly where to find her.

She was sitting on the Final Jam stage, reminiscing.

"It feels like another lifetime ago," A deep voice muttered, guessing her thoughts. "Doesn't it?"

"Do you ever wonder what would have happened if you hadn't found your mystery girl?" Mitchie asked suddenly. It was such a random question.

"Don't ever talk like that," Shane warned her, slipping his hand into her's. "Because then I wouldn't have the most beautiful girl in the world as my girlfriend,"

"I would still be your best friend,"

"Yeah, well you're that too." He grabbed her other hand and began to pull her along behind him.

"Shane..."

"Yeah, babe?"

"Where...Where are you taking me?"

They were outside, nearing the lake. She could see her friends, almost all of them hand in hand, waiting for her.

"What's going on?!" Mitchie demanded as Nate took one of her arms, Shane on the other side. "Seriously, guys?!"

"You didn't have a lot of fun this summer, Mitchie," Nate replied with a sly smile. "So we decided that you deserve too, after all the work you put in and all,"

"No!" She knew them too well. "No, no, no!"

They both took hold of her hands, before joining hands with the rest of their hands. Caitlyn made sure to lock hands with Nate. Peggy slipped her hand into Shane's free one, Barron gripping her other one. Sander and Ella joined Caitlyn before they all jumped into the cool water.

They were child-like again, splashing each other. Jason dunked Nate, who then grabbed Caitlyn and Mitchie in his strong arms and threw them.

"Chicken!" Ella shouted as Sander placed her on his shoulders. "Let's play chicken!"

The girls were quick to agree; Shane grabbed Mitchie's waist and picked her up. Barron and Peggy were quick to pick each other.

That left Nate and Caitlyn.

"You ready, Geller?"

"You know it, Black." She responded, taking his outstretched hand. "Me and Mitchie, Peggy and Ella...Jase...Do you wanna...?"

"I call next!" Jason told them, his eyes gleaming. He couldn't remember the last time they had all been together, and he was so happy at that moment. They all were.

* * *

It was early the next morning when Nate snuck out to see Dana, and he wasn't sure how the conversation was going to go.

"Hi," She said, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek. He returned the gesture.

"Dana..."

"I think I know what you're going to say,"

He blinked, surprised. "You do?"

"It's about Caitlyn, right? You still love her."

Again, he was taken aback. "How do you..."

Dana laughed. "Nate, I'm a girl. I know everything...Well, almost anything. Anyway, I know you care about me, and I care about you, but maybe what we're supposed to be is just really good friends, you know? Caitlyn is your first love, and you're not over her. Not even a little bit."

Nate pulled her in for a hug, his arms tight around her waist. "Thank you _so_ much, Dana. You have no idea how amazing you really are. Here," He took her cell phone, entering something into it. "This is my personal number. Anytime you wanna talk, just shoot me a text."

She hugged him again. "I'll see you around, Natie."

* * *

"Mitch!" Nate called to her as she loaded her bags into the limo. Connie was once again allowing her to drive home with the boys, knowing they would take another 'mini' vacation before they returned her to her New Jersey home.

"Natie!" Mitchie responded just as eagerly. "What's up?"

"Where's Caitlyn?!"

"In the cabin," She told him, not knowing what to make of his behavior. "Why...?"

"Cause I screwed up a year ago, and I need to make sure that I never hurt Caitlyn again," His voice was rushed. He took off in the direction of the girl's cabin.

"Cait!" He called, knocking her over. She laughed as she landed on her butt before reaching up to take his outstretched hand.

"You're in a hurry," She teased, but stopped after she locked eyes with him. "Nate? What...What's going on?"

"What would you say if I asked you out again?!" Nate blurted out. "I need to know, Cait. Please,"

"I, ugh..." Caitlyn trailed off. "Are you for real?"

"Yes."

"Nate..." She shook her head. "What are you doing? What about Dana?"

"She's a great friend," He admitted as he came closer to her. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist. "But I'm in love with you,"

Caitlyn tried to break free from his grasp. "Nate, we tried this,"

Nate refused to let her go, bringing her even closer. He pressed his lips to hers, smiling inside when she began to kiss him back. "Caity, I _promise_. I will _never_ hurt you again. Okay? I love you, Okay?"

She blushed. "Good, cause I don't wanna hurt again. And by the way? I love you too."

"It's about time," They heard Mitchie and Jason say together; Shane was still trying to fit his stuff in the trunk of the limo.

"God! It only took you the entire summer,"

"Look whose talking," Caitlyn teased. "It took you and Shane _just_ that long to get together last summer,"

"Thanks for the reminder, Cait." He said with a smile as he joined them. "Happy one year anniversary, babe,"

"Mmm," She responded, leaning up to kiss him. "So, are you guys ready?"

Nate watched his best friend carefully, raising an eye brow. "_You guys_? You mean...?"

Mitchie began to laugh, Caitlyn joining in. "Caity's gonna be staying with me for this next school year."

"I don't want to keep moving around," She _explained._ "I'd love to be able to stay in one place, and be with my best friend...and now, apparently, spend time with my boyfriend."

"Well then," He wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Let's get going, huh?"

They laughed as Shane had Mitchie hop onto his back so he could carry her out to the car. The three others followed closely behind.

* * *

_Three Years Later._

"Hey you guys," Shane called out to his screaming fans. "I hope you don't mind, but I have something that I've been wanting to do for a _really_ long time. Mitchie!" He scanned the crowd. "Where you at?"

She blushed, trying to hide behind her friends. Three years after camp, they tried to see each other as much as their busy schedules allowed.

Standing in the audience with her was Caitlyn, Ella, Sander, Peggy, Barron and Tess.

They were all together now, Ella and Sander had gotten married two months earlier. Tess, now a _much_ sweeter version of herself had fallen for Jason a year earlier; he had liked her since she had given him a birdhouse for his birthday

It had taken Barron and Peggy _forever _to admit their feelings; they had started dating after a drunken night at Ella's wedding. Caitlyn and Mitchie had filmed it, handing it out to everyone they knew.

The spotlight was trying to hit her, but she was good at avoiding it. She had never been able to avoid one of the guys, though. So when Barron grabbed her around the waist, she knew she was done for.

He carried Mitchie to the edge of the stage, which wasn't hard because of their front row seats. Nate made a grab for her hands, finally getting a hold of then. He got her on stage.

"I think you all know my beautiful girlfriend, Mitchie," Shane called to the crowd. Girls began to scream her name.

"Hey babe," He held the mic away, those words just for her. "I love you, okay? Remember that."

"I love you too," Mitchie whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"For the last twenty years, I've watched you grow up, Mitch. And then four years ago, you became my mystery girl, and that was when I realized that...I love you. I love you more than anyone, Mitchie. And I have a really important question for you,"

The girls screamed louder and louder as he got down on one knee and pulled a little black box out of his pocket. She didn't even notice that Nate and Jason had pulled the rest of their friend onto the stage.

"Michelle Elizabeth Torres, will you marry me?" It was the first time she had ever heard him sound so nervous about anything.

"Say yes!" Caitlyn shouted. Nate was sitting on the stool, ready to play the drums for their next song. She was on his lap.

"Say yes Mitch!" Tess echoed. She was wrapped up in Jason's embrace.

"Yes," Mitchie whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Shane slipped the ring on her finger before grabbing her and twirling her around. "I love you! I love you so much Mitchie!"

"I love you too Shane," She said honestly.

Everything was finally perfect.

**The end :) Thank you guys so much for reading! :) Love to all of you!**


End file.
